Messages From The Heart
by The Delirium Threemen
Summary: Young Roy wants to do something special for his Stepfather for Father's Day. This story depicts a bit of background into Roy's childhood.
1. Chapter 1

**Messages From the Heart**

**The Delirium Threemen**

**Don't own the copyright to any of the characters depicted in Emergency they are the property of Universal Studios/****Mark VII Productions****. Content from the show is the property of the original creators. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All original characters and story content is the sole property of The Delirium Threemen and may not be used without permission.**

**Song reference for Battle of New Orleans is the property of the respective authors, artists and labels.**

**Keep in mind the time frame of this story is the late 1950s where the norm was for woman to stay home while the husband earned the paycheck; divorce was frowned upon, etc. **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Nine-year-old Roy DeSoto walked home with his friends Cuddy and Jo-Jo from school. It was a Friday afternoon and the three friends were anticipating the weekend. Saturday morning Roy and Cuddy were going shopping together to buy Father's Day presents. Jo-Jo had already gone shopping with her elder sister Eileen earlier in the week to buy her father a gift for the occasion.

The three children teased each other as they made their way down Mapledale Street. Roy's friend Christopher 'Cuddy' Cuddahy lived next door to him and Joanne 'Jo-Jo' Johnson lived a couple of blocks up the street from them.

Roy approached a modest middle class home where his stepfather Jim Finley was sitting on the front porch. Roy's mother Harriett had married Jim almost a year and a half ago. Roy walked up to the porch steps and said good-bye to Jo-Jo as she continued up the street. Cuddy stood beside him.

"What a couple of scallywags you two are. You're going to let that cute little girl walk all the way home by herself?" Jim playfully admonished the two boys in front of him.

"Umm…yeah…and why does she need us to walk her home?" Cuddy asked.

Jim gave him a disparaging look, "Because it's good manners, young man. You always walk a lady home."

Roy squirmed a little and said in a whisper, "But Jo-Jo's not really a lady and she's certainly not cute." Jim gave him a stern look before his stepson added, "Oh alright, come on Cuddy let's walk the little he-she home".

Jim chuckled to himself as the two boys ran up the sidewalk to catch up with Jo-Jo. It was moments like this where he wished he had a crystal ball. He often wondered what a sixteen year old Roy would think about a sixteen year old Jo-Jo. He knew that little girl was going to blossom into a beauty. Her older sister Eileen was thirteen and already turning heads. He imagined Jo-Jo would be turning a lot more heads than her sister when she reached that age.

It was true that outside of school she resembled a boy more than a girl. As soon as Jo-Jo got home she removed the frilly school dresses her mother made her wear and quickly donned her 'boy' clothes. Unfortunately, for her there really were no other girls around her age living on their street. They were either too young or too old for her to hang out with. Jo-Jo was just a year younger than Cuddy and Roy.

Jim could only imagine how much Jo-Jo's after school attire irritated her mother Eunice. Eunice Johnson wasn't his favorite person in the world and he often wondered how she ever produced such a good natured girl like Jo-Jo while Eileen was definitely her mother's daughter. The Johnson's lived in a much grander house down the road and her mother Eunice made sure that she had the skinny on all the neighbors.

He butted heads with the woman just after he married Harriett. Eunice had lots of not so nice things to say about his new bride and stepson; of course most of what she was saying was based on her own false assumptions. She made sure the entire neighborhood knew that Harriett was a divorcee. Somehow Eunice felt that made his new wife tainted goods and lacking as a person and his stepson in her opinion was well on his way to becoming a hoodlum being raised by such a woman.

When Jim finally heard some of the gossip she was dishing out about his wife and stepson he paid Eunice a visit. He basically told Eunice that if she continuing to spread stories about his wife and son then he was going to hit her where it hurt; her pocket book. Eunice's husband Norman was an accountant, fairly successful and very much under the thumb of his wife. He just told Eunice he would seek another accountant and would recommend some of his other business associates do so as well. That was the last time Eunice uttered a word against his wife or son publicly.

Having started up his own business after World War II, Jim had become quit successful and had made some influential friends because of his business dealings. He sold and maintained cars and restored them along with some other specialty work whenever a client asked for it. He also did fleet work for some trucking companies maintaining their vehicles. He ran an honest business and was upfront with his customers when it came to estimating costs. He had worked hard to build a good reputation in the community.

His wife Harriett wasn't ashamed of divorcing her husband Tom DeSoto and she had plenty of good reasons for taking Roy and leaving the man. Tom DeSoto was an abusive drunk who at times resorted to using Harriett as his punching bag. Jim also knew that there were some things that Harriett hadn't told him about Tom.

The breaking point for Harriett was the night Tom blew up over supper being five minutes late, he started yelling and slapping Harriett around; Roy who was five at the time told him to leave his mother alone. That only succeeded in Tom turning his wrath onto the little boy. After Harriett had managed to drag Tom off of her son; he turned his rage back onto her and eventually started choking her. A frightened Roy watched and fearing for his mother's life grabbed a large lead crystal vase and smashed it on the back of his father's head knocking the man out cold.

That evening Harriett had packed a couple of suitcases for her and Roy and left that house while Tom DeSoto remained unconscious on the kitchen floor. She never looked back only looked forward to providing a better life for her son and herself. She stayed with an aunt and uncle until she had managed to find a job as a bank teller and soon she had saved up enough money to rent a small two bedroom apartment. Harriett was determined that she was going to provide a half decent life for her son. She knew that there wouldn't be much money for extras but providing Roy a safe and loving home was more important than money or following the proper protocols of society.

Tom DeSoto crossed the line when he lashed out at Roy in front of Harriett. That was one thing Harriett would not put up with. It was her son's safety and well-being that gave her the strength to leave her husband, going against the standards of what was socially acceptable. Society dictated that a woman stayed with her husband regardless. If he beat her than she probably deserved it, if he cheated on her then it was the wife that was somehow driving him into the arms of another woman. Harriett's own parent's basically shunned her after she divorced Tom DeSoto. They felt that their daughter had shamed the family with the scandal of a divorce.

Harriett suspected that there may have been times he struck out at Roy when she wasn't around. Roy never admitted to anything happening and Jim wouldn't have been surprised if Roy had hid it from his mother. Since he's known Roy, the boy was always very protective of his mother. In some ways Roy was a little more mature emotionally than other kids his age.

It was at the bank where Jim first laid eyes on her. Jim was captivated by the new girl, a pretty blonde with deep blue eyes and long legs. She was a little on the tall side but that didn't deter him. He would deliberately stand in the line for her wicket even if it was the longest line at the bank. For three months she kept brushing him off and told him she wasn't interested whenever he asked her out to lunch or dinner.

Jim never believed the old saying 'love at first sight' until the day he first saw Harriett. Jim remembered the first time she waited on him at the bank; there was something in her pleasant demeanor and pretty smile that made him fall in love with her in a matter of seconds. Jim became very persistent when it came to perusing her.

Harriett was the first woman he found worth chasing after. He had his share of girlfriends in the past but none he really felt 'in love' with. He could have settled for a comfortable marriage and a few of those girlfriends would have made good wives. He just never felt it fair to marry someone that he didn't feel he could cherish and love. He didn't want to be with someone he liked, he wanted someone that would 'knock his socks off'. There was something about Harriett that made Jim feel that way.

Harriett was a little leery of the tall dark haired man that never missed an opportunity to ask her out. She was a little taken aback by his forwardness; although she had to admit there was something she found captivating about him. She had no intention of dating or even getting married again so she ignored the attraction she had to the man. She had enough to manage as a single mother with a young son.

Realizing that Jim wasn't going to stop asking her out so she decided to say yes to one of his lunch offers hoping to use the opportunity to politely and kindly let him know she wasn't interested in getting into a relationship. They went to a small diner that was near the bank and sat in a booth. After the waitress took their lunch orders and left them alone at the table alone.

Harriett drew in a sharp breath and said, "Jim, it's nothing personal, but I'm just not interested in dating anyone. I hope you don't get the wrong impression that I finally accepted your offer to take me out to lunch as a sign that I'm interested. Do I make myself clear on that?"

"So you're intent on staying lonely for the rest of your life, Harriett?" Jim asked.

Harriett hoped a part of Jim was as narrow minded as her parents and said dryly, "I'm divorced Jim. That should send you running in the other direction".

"I can't imagine any man in his right mind letting you get away," Jim said in an awkward attempt at flattery. He pretty much already suspected that she was either widowed or divorced.

"Well maybe I wasn't a very good wife," Harriett replied hoping a hint of some scandal would discourage Jim from pursuing her.

Jim raised his eyebrows at her to demonstrate he doubted her last statement, "You know I really don't buy that nonsense".

"Well you know Jim; a good wife always keeps the home fires going. Besides all marriages are supposed to be made in heaven and…," Harriett countered.

Interrupting Harriet before she could continue Jim retorted, "So are thunder and lightening". He knew Harriett was trying to discourage him and he was determined not to let her. "Harriett some men are just louses and I don't buy into the nonsense that when a marriage fails it's always the wife who is at fault", he said.

Harriett nervously laughed at his counter argument and then offered another reason for him not to date her. "Jim, I already have a fellow in my life," Harriett replied referring to her son, but hoping that the elusiveness of her statement would give Jim the impression that she was already taken. She knew she was being somewhat dishonest with Jim but her son's welfare was her top priority.

Jim chuckled at her last statement and replied with a smile, "I suppose this fellow you're referring to is a much younger man…I'd say about 7 or 8..."

Harriett felt the heat flare up in her cheeks, "You know…you know I have a son, but how?" Harriett gasped out an astonished reply.

Jim's face turned red, "I followed you home one night…I'm sorry…I figured you kept turning me down because you had a boyfriend or something…"

"I can't believe you followed me home! Do you also peek into my windows at night?" Harriet flared angrily.

"What else was I supposed to do? You kept turning me down and I wanted to know the reason why," Jim stammered out an embarrassed response; he knew he was about to blow it with Harriett. Jim decided to put it all on the line and blurted out, "I fell in love with you the first day we met. I don't care that you're divorced and I certainly don't mind that you have children".

Harriett looked into his pleading green eyes and felt her resolve begin to start crumbling and fought to remain indignant, "That's still no reason to follow a lady home".

"I'm sorry about that…but…but cut me some slack Harriett, I've been trying for months to get you to give me a shot," Jim beseeched.

"It's not you Jim, I have other responsibilities that are more important than having a man in my life," Harriett said softening her tone with Jim.

In an act of desperation Jim got up from the table and knelt down in front of her, "I'm not getting off me knees until you agree to go out with me again".

Harriett blushed embarrassingly at the spectacle Jim was making of himself. "Okay…okay just get back into your chair and I'll go out to lunch with you again on Thursday".

"Don't forget about Monday through Friday as well," Jim said as he remained on his knees.

"Fine…fine…Monday, Friday whatever, just get up off the floor. People are starting to stare at us," Harriett hissed.

Jim flashed a huge grin at her as he got up and sat back at the table. Harriett tried to stare at him with her 'angry' eyes like she did to Roy whenever he did something wrong. Jim gave her the same look back before both of them began snickering at each other. Soon they were telling each other about themselves. Then they got back onto the topic of her son and divorce. Harriett had expressed some concern over how her son might handle the thought of her dating someone. She briefly gave Jim an explanation on why she left her husband.

"Roy's father wasn't a very pleasant man…that's why I left him…to protect my son. He comes first in my life," Harriett said as she looked down at the table.

Jim reached over and placed his hand over Harriett's, "I guess that's one of the reasons I love you…you know what your priorities should be and I certainly don't mind that you have a son".

Harriett raised her head and smiled at him, "You're not going to give up after one lunch date or a hundred are you?"

"Nope…I'm willing to take the time to get to know you and hopefully when the time is right, I want to get to know your son too. I'll be up front Harriett, I intend to marry you," Jim replied returning Harriett's smile.

After meeting for lunch dates over the next six months, Harriett finally felt comfortable enough with Jim to bring him to her apartment to meet her son. Harriett had mentioned Jim several times to Roy so he would get used to the idea of his mother dating. Roy was somewhat reluctant in the beginning to get to know Jim. His memories of his father were still fresh in his mind and he wondered if all men were like him.

Initially Roy would mostly pretend that Jim wasn't there or he would be subtly rude to him. He would deliberately forget to give his mother any messages left from Jim. Whenever the three of them were together Roy made sure he sat in the middle and then he would proceed to squirm and wiggle around until either his mother or Jim sat elsewhere. One day he even made Jim wait outside their apartment for over an hour until his mother got home. Harriett made Roy sit in his bedroom for two hours over that stunt.

It didn't take Harriett or Jim long to realize what Roy was up to. Both knew that Roy needed to learn to trust Jim first before taking their relationship to the next level. Jim went on pretending that Roy's actions didn't bother him. He knew deep down Roy was a basically a good kid. Once Roy realized his 'stunts' weren't going to make Jim go away, he knew he had no alternative than to get to know this new man in his mother's life.

Jim's patience and understanding with reddish-blonde haired boy eventually paid off and he began to see that Jim always treated his mother kindly. Roy even noticed how Jim always remained kind to him even when he didn't deserve it. Roy finally developed a level of respect towards Jim and eventually found himself liking him. Roy unconsciously began allowing a bond to form between the two of them and eventually began to accompany the new man in his mother's life on outings where it was just the two of them. Jim started with simple things like taking Roy to the park and tossing a baseball around, to a movie or ballgame.

He even began to take Roy to work with him on Saturdays and show him around the shop. Roy had expressed an interest in cars and Jim felt the boy might like to see his shop. Roy soon became a Saturday regular at the shop. Jim would explain what work he was doing on a car and Roy would help out by handing him the tools he needed while he was fixing an engine.

The mechanics that worked for Jim loved having Roy around. He would scamper about the garage fetching tools or coffee for Jim's for them. Jim began showing Roy some simple tasks he felt the boy could handle such as an oil change before moving on to other things like changing spark plugs and checking break fluid.

While they would work on a car, Jim and Roy would talk about things. Jim sometimes told Roy about his childhood where he grew up on a dairy farm. Other times Roy would pick out the topic of conversation between them. This was eventually how the two of them forming a close relationship. Jim found he really enjoyed having a child around. He never thought much before about having children until he met Harriett's son.

Jim could still remember how nervous he was when he had asked Roy for permission to marry his mother. Roy agreed to grant him this permission on one condition; that condition was never to hurt his mother. Jim looked Roy directly in the eyes and with great sincerity said, "I promise never to do anything that would hurt your mother. I also promise never to do anything that would hurt you either Roy".

He recalled how serious the young boy was when he made him pinky swear on that promise. Jim knew how much the little boy adored his mother. Harriett had told him many months ago that Roy had witnessed some of the treatment she received from Tom. He understood why the young boy was asking it. Jim hoped he would never cross paths with that bastard Tom DeSoto, he would definitely teach him something about picking on someone his own size.

Harriett finally said yes to his proposal after being tag teamed by her son and Jim one night when the three of them we having dinner at a fancy restaurant. She loved Jim but she needed to be sure Roy was okay with them getting married. She couldn't help but say 'yes' when Roy told her that he had given Jim permission to marry her.

After Roy had given his mother away at the wedding the three of them went to Hawaii to celebrate the marriage. Jim wanted the honeymoon to be their first vacation together as a family. Harriett was thrilled with that idea. She wasn't comfortable going away for a couple of weeks and leaving Roy in someone else's care. She didn't want her son to get the impression that they might be abandoning him or that he wasn't important to them now that they were married.

Upon their return Harriett and Roy moved into Jim's house in Norwalk where Roy quickly made friends with the boy next door, Christopher Cuddahy. It was shortly after starting school at Norwalk Elementary that Joanne Johnson started hanging around the two boys on the walk home from school. Jo-Jo had a secret crush on Roy which she kept hidden with a steady stream of barbs and insults that she exchanged with him.

* * *

Roy and Cuddy finally returned from walking Jo-Jo home and each boy entered their respective houses. Roy entered the kitchen and grabbed himself a glass of water. Jim was fixing supper and Roy began to pitch in by setting the kitchen table.

"Can I go shopping with Cuddy and his mom tomorrow morning," Roy excitedly asked his stepfather.

"I can't see why not. The guys are just going to have to do their own gophering tomorrow at the shop".

"Don't worry, I'll be back to gophering next Saturday," the little boy said as he smiled at Jim.

"So what are you going to do with yourself next week when school finishes for the year?"

"I suppose I'm too young to hang around here by myself, huh?"

"Well, you know the first week in July we'll be going to the Grand Canyon for two weeks. After that there is a project at the shop for you if you want it".

"How come Cuddy gets to stay home by his self?"

"Well, both your mother and I aren't comfortable leaving a 9-year-old alone all day".

"Cuddy's parents do it all the time and he's in charge of his little sister too".

"Now Roy, that's really up to his parent's and just because someone…" Jim began before Roy cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah I know, just because someone else is allowed to do it doesn't mean its okay for me to do it", Roy finished. He wasn't sure why his mom and Jim made a big deal about leaving him home alone during the daytime in the summer. It wasn't like he was a baby and he certainly wasn't one to get into very much trouble.

"If you're finished setting the table then go clean up. Your mother should be home any minute and supper is just about ready".

Roy trotted up to the upstairs bathroom and cleaned up. He heard the front door open and Jim and Harriett greeting each other. He entered the kitchen and welcomed his mother with a kiss on the cheek before sitting down to the table. The dinner time conversation evolved around the family's future trip to the Grand Canyon.

Ever since Harriett and Jim told Roy last week about their vacation plans, that's all the boy could talk about. He had researched the Grand Canyon when he was in the school library and already had a list compiled of things he wanted to do on this vacation.

Jim had already pulled out all the stops to make this vacation special; he had already planned a 5 day rafting trip in the Green River along with several campouts along the way. He also had planned a side trip down to Tombstone for the family which they didn't tell Roy about. They wanted to surprise him on that part of the trip. Roy loved stories about Wyatt Earp and gunfight at the OK corral.

After supper was finished it was Roy's job to wash and dry the dishes. Once he was finished cleaning the supper dishes he grabbed his satchel and did his homework at the kitchen table. After Harriett went over his homework then Roy was allowed to go outside and play with his friends. Roy chose to go upstairs to his room instead saying he was working on something important in his room.

Roy closed the door to his bedroom and pulled open his desk drawer. There sat the Father's Day card he had made for Jim at school and underneath that was a ream of writing paper. He grabbed a few sheets of paper and began writing. He wanted to let Jim know how special he had become in his life and that he thought of him as a father.

Roy wanted to write down what he felt about Jim in a letter. He knew he would chicken out if he tried to say the words. He thought about yesterday when he asked his mother about Jim's favorite colors. Harriett asked him why and Roy admitted he wanted to pick out a shirt and tie for Jim as a present for Father's Day.

Harriett told him that Jim would be happy with just a card from him. Roy really had his heart set on buying his stepfather a gift. He didn't feel a card was good enough and wanted to buy him something special. Harriett reminded him that sometimes the card was the most wonderful thing that came with a gift especially when you wrote something heartfelt inside of it. Nothing was more wonderful than receiving a message from the heart as a gift she told her son.

She wasn't sure if Roy really understood what she was trying to tell him. Finally after much persistence from her son, Harriett smiled down at the boy and told him what color shirt and tie would look best on Jim. Harriett showed him some examples of colors from some clothes in her bedroom closet so he would have a good idea what the colors should look like. Pale blue shirt with a dark blue tie or white shirt and a black tie should go with most things Harriett told Roy.

Harriett had slipped Mrs. Cuddahy some extra money just in case Roy didn't have enough to purchase the items. This way Roy wouldn't feel embarrassed if he was a little short and if he had enough money Mrs. Cuddahy would just slip the money into the glove compartment of her car.

Roy thought about what his mother had told him yesterday about giving something from the heart. He started to write out his letter and had almost completed three paragraphs when he heard Cuddy and Jo-Jo outside on the sidewalk calling out to him.

Roy stuck his head out of his bedroom window and yelled back, "I'm working on something important right now."

Jo-Jo yelled back, "Yeah you're working on trying to improve that weasel face of yours".

"Better watch it Jo-Jo, I just called the dog catcher and he's coming to pick you up," Roy retaliated as he made a face and stuck out his tongue at her. This was what Jo-Jo referred to as his 'goblin face'.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any uglier you have to go and prove me wrong," Jo-Jo snapped back.

Cuddy then shouted out, "Roy just grab your gloves we're gonna play some catch over in the empty lot".

"Fine I'll be right down," Roy called back knowing that Cuddy and Jo-Jo would keep pestering him until he joined them. He hid his letter in his desk drawer and then grabbed his two baseball gloves out of the closet. He usually let Jo-Jo use his old baseball glove because her parents refused to buy her one of her own. She was getting pretty good at catching the ball and even better at throwing. She sure didn't throw like a girl, Roy thought.

The three children headed towards the empty lot on the other side of the street and began tossing a baseball between the three of them. Most of the neighborhood kids used the empty lot as a play area so it was very common to see a group of kids playing tag, baseball, or even the older kids playing some touch football in this spot.

After about an hour of tossing the baseball around the three children were interrupted by an older boy in the neighborhood. Eddie Boyle had a reputation of pushing the other kids around and most kids usually avoided him. Eddie didn't need a reason to throw a punch at someone other than he felt like it. Eddie seemed to get great enjoyment out of picking on others.

The older boy spotted the Jo-Jo and considering her to be the weakest of the three kids he headed straight towards her knocking her onto the ground. Other than being caught off guard, Jo-Jo was unhurt. Eddie stood looming over her waiting for her to try to get up. Most of the kids in the neighborhood knew that if you tried to get up after Eddie knocked you down it was his excuse to start hitting on you.

Cuddy and Roy immediately threw their gloves down and ran over to stand by Jo-Jo who remained sitting on the ground. Eddie was a good several inches taller that both boys but Roy and Cuddy weren't going to let him beat on Jo-Jo. Some name calling and threats were issued between the three boys. Eddie wasn't sure he really wanted to take both boys on at once so he continued to issue threats at them hoping to intimidate the two smaller boys.

Jim and Harriett had stepped out on their front porch and witnessed the intrusion of the older boy on the three younger children. Jim began walking over to the park to send the older boy on his way. The Boyle kid had a habit of picking on those he could easily overpower. He saw how Roy and Cuddy stood protectively in front of Jo-Jo. He couldn't help be feel some pride well up inside of him knowing those two were ready to defend Jo-Jo. Despite all the teasing between the three of them, Roy and Cuddy would never let anyone harm Jo-Jo while they were around.

"Eddie, I think its time for you to go home," Jim said firmly. The older boy knew better than to even think about taking the much taller burly man who was now in front of him. As he left he muttered something about taking care of the little squirts later.

"Okay kids, almost time to go in for the night," Jim said to the trio as they all walked to the sidewalk in front of the Finley's house. Harriett joined them at the end of the walkway.

"Why don't you two boys walk Jo-Jo home," Jim requested the boys.

Roy piped up, "But we need a leash to walk her home".

"Roy, what's the rule about saying bad things to people," Harried admonished her son.

"If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all".

Jo-Jo couldn't resist making a comment to Roy as the three kids headed towards her house, "Serves you right weasel boy".

Harriett shook her head at Jo-Jo's comment as the three children headed down the sidewalk, "I don't know why those two are always picking at each other".

Jim put his arms around his wife and whispered in her ear, "Because they really are sweet on each other".

"They sure have a funny way of showing it".

"Trust me dear, nine-year-old boys always pick on the girl they're crushing on".

"And what about nine-year-old girls?" Harriett asked.

"They are as much a mystery as grown up woman".

"Huh-huh, care to dig yourself out of that hole."

Jim chuckled as he placed a kiss on her cheek and changed the topic, "Actually that Boyle kid sure could use a leash and a muzzle as well".

"Jim, I can't believe you said that", Harriett scolded and then added in a soft whisper; "However, I do agree with you about that particular child".

Jim laughed as he led his wife to the front porch where they sat waiting from their son and Cuddy to come home.

* * *

The three children decided to play one of their typical games as they walked towards the Johnson house. "No stepping on the cracks or you'll have bad luck," Cuddy called out.

The three children where hoping, skipping and jumping over the cracks in the sidewalk until they got to the Johnson house where they waited until Jo-Jo was inside. Roy and Cuddy continued the game on the way back home.

After becoming bored with that game they began singing their favorite Johnny Horton song, _The Battle of New Orleans_. As usual the two boys never finished the first verse:

_Well, in eighteen and fourteen we took a little trip_

_along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip_

_We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,_

"Hey Cuddy, did you say beans," Roy chortled as soon as they got to the part about beans in the song.

Cuddy replied, "Yes, Roy I sure did say beans".

"_Beans, beans_

_A musical fruit_

_The more you eat_

_The more you toot_

_The more you toot_

_The better you feel_

_Beans, Beans at every meal"_, the two boys sang together breaking into fits of giggles as they finished their song.

Harriett and Jim could hear the two of them as they neared the house. Harriett shook her head over the song they were singing and Jim refrained from laughing. Cuddy went up the walkway to his house next door and Roy went up his joining his mother and Jim on the porch.

Harriett nudged Jim who then spoke to the young boy in front of them, "Roy, you know your mother doesn't care for that song you were singing". Jim suspected that she knew who had taught Roy that particular song even though she never had confronted him on it.

"Sorry it won't happen again" Roy apologized. Next time they would sing it where no grownups were around to hear them, he thought.

"Okay young man, it's time to take a bath and get ready for bed," Harriett said.

"But Mom, it's not even 8:30 and I don't have to go to bed until 9:30," Roy protested. Harriett gave him a firm look.

Roy muttered 'yes mom' as he trudged into the house to the upstairs bathroom. He began running his bath water before going to the bedroom to retrieve his pajamas, robe and slippers. After he finished his bath he put his dirty clothes in the laundry shoot and headed downstairs.

He plopped down on the sofa chair while his mother and Jim sat on the couch. They listened to the news on the radio until it was finished. When the broadcast was done Roy headed upstairs to his bedroom even though it was a good thirty-five minutes until his bedtime.

"My gosh, don't tell me you're headed to bed early," Jim teased the boy.

"Nope, I'm working on something in my bedroom."

"Such as?" his mother inquired

Roy squirmed slightly as he answered, "It's sort of private".

Harriett's curiosity was piqued, "What kind of private thing are you working on?"

Roy didn't want to tell them about the Father's Day letter he was working on for Jim so he answered evasively, "Just writing some stuff out".

"It better not be homework young man", Harriett said sternly.

"Nothing to do with school at all Mom".

Jim piped in, "Must be adding to that list of stuff he wants to do on vacation".

Roy smiled and headed upstairs. Once he got into his room he closed the door and headed straight for his desk and took out the letter he had started earlier. He continued writing for about a half hour before he was interrupted by Jim.

"Hey kiddo, your mother wants you to come downstairs and have your snack before bedtime", he said from the bedroom doorway. He noticed that Roy was writing something so at least there was nothing to worry about in terms of any small furry or slimy creatures being smuggled into his room, Jim thought. Lately the boy had been pestering them for a pet such as a cat or dog. The frog he had brought into the house two months ago didn't go over very well when his mother found it in the bathtub.

Roy put away his letter and followed his stepfather down the stairs to the kitchen where his mother had some cheese, crackers and milk waiting for him. Harriett worried about her son's small size and hoped some extra nourishment at bedtime would help him grow. Cuddy and Jo-Jo were both several inches taller than him and Jo-Jo was almost a year younger.

The family doctor had reassured Harriett that Roy wasn't underdeveloped for his age; her son was just at the lower end of the scale on his growth development. Jim also tried to soothe his wife's concerns and tell her Roy will probably do all his growing at once; besides there were two boys in his class at school that were shorter than him.

Once Roy was finished his snack he put his empty plate and glass in the kitchen sink and headed to the living room. He gave his mother a hug and kiss goodnight and then turned to Jim to do the same. Jim scooped the boy up and began carrying him towards the stairs.

"You're a pretty mushy kid aren't you?" Jim said as he carried the boy to his bed and plopped him down.

"I learned it from the big mushy guy who lives here," Roy replied back and broke into a fit of giggles as Jim found the ticklish spot between his ribs. After giving the boy a hug and a kiss on the forehead he tucked the blankets around him.

"Now don't go spending all your hard earned money tomorrow".

"I know, save some for a rainy day," Roy answered back as Jim shut off the bedroom light and left the door open a crack.


	2. Chapter 2

**Messages From the Heart**

**The Delirium Threemen**

**Don't own the copyright to any of the characters depicted in Emergency they are the property of Universal Studios/****Mark VII Productions****. Content from the show is the property of the original creators. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All original characters and story content is the sole property of The Delirium Threemen and may not be used without permission.**

**The movie The Blob is the property of the respective authors, artists and labels along with the song from The Blob.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Shortly after 7:30 Saturday morning, Roy woke up and quickly got dressed. After making his bed and brushing his teeth he headed downstairs. His mother and Jim were still sleeping. He went into the kitchen, filled a glass with some milk and quickly downed it. He quietly slipped back up to his bedroom and began working on finishing his letter to Jim.

Roy was so absorbed in his writing he never noticed the normal clattering around of his parents getting up for the day. He was close to completing his letter when he heard his mother calling him for breakfast. He put the letter away and headed downstairs. His mother put a stack of pancakes topped with strawberries in front of him which he quickly doused in maple syrup. It was almost 8:30 which gave him just enough time to eat his breakfast and meet Cuddy and his mother to go shopping.

After finishing breakfast, Jim headed off to his shop and Roy helped his mother clear the kitchen table and do the dishes. When he was finished he headed over to the Cuddahy's where Mrs. Cuddahy, Cuddy, and his little sister Brenda all piled into the car and headed for the local shopping center.

At the men's store Roy provided the neck size his mother had him write down from one of his Jim's shirts to the sales clerk. He looked at some pale blue shirts and white ones. He settled on a pale blue short sleeve dress shirt being the temperature for the next few months would be scorching. He picked out a solid-colored dark blue tie that would go nicely with the shirt.

Once he had paid for his purchases he met up with Cuddy who was still picking out a shirt and tie with his little sister as his mother looked on. Roy still had plenty of his allowance left over so maybe him and Cuddy would go to the movies this afternoon. The had heard from some of their friends at school how great the new horror flick The Blob was and were anxious to see it themselves.

When everybody had completed their purchases they accompanied Mrs. Cuddahy to the grocery store before heading home. It was almost 11:00 by the time they returned. Roy hurried into the house and quickly said hello to his mother before rushing upstairs to his bedroom.

He stashed Jim's Father's Day present under the bed and then sat at his desk to complete his special letter to Jim. He had just finished it when his mother called him down for lunch. Jim normally arrived home an hour after lunch on Saturdays. All he needed to do now was write the letter over again in his neatest handwriting and wrap the gifts stuffed under his bed. He quickly washed up and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Mom can I go to the movies with Cuddy and Jo-Jo this afternoon," Roy asked as he finished his lunch.

"What movie are you planning to see?"

"There's a new movie out called The Blob it's about this slimy creature that can get under doors, go through cracks and it devours everything in its path," Roy answered excitedly.

"Oh dear Roy, that doesn't sound too good".

Roy pleaded, "It's really not all that scary Mom, besides we've been waiting to see it for two weeks now".

"Well if you get nightmares, then this will be the last movie of its kind you will see".

"Does that mean yes, mom, I can go?" Roy asked with uncertainty.

Harriett relented, "Okay you can go but the three of you stick together and if it rains then use a payphone and I'll come pick you kids up".

"You're the best Mom," Roy said as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Harriett had to admit her son sure knew how to wheedle his way around her sometimes. Even though she wasn't too keen on his choice in movies she knew it couldn't be all that bad if Jo-Jo's mother was going to let her go.

Roy headed towards the door and before he could exit the house his mother issued one last request, "Now don't go filling up on popcorn and soda pop. Maybe the three of you should buy one bag of popcorn and share it".

"Don't worry Mom, I won't fill up on junk," he called back as he headed over to Cuddy's house here Jo-Jo was going to meet them. As soon as Jo-Jo arrived at Cuddy's house the three of them headed to the theatre which was about five blocks away.

They sat at the back of the theater and Roy ended up sharing his popcorn with Jo-Jo. She sat on one side of him and Cuddy sat on the other. It always puzzled him that Jo-Jo always sat beside him whether he was in the middle or not. The three of them sat mesmerized by the movie and after it had ended the three friends headed home.

* * *

As they walked down the streets towards home the three of them started singing the catchy theme song from the movie.

"_Beware of the blob, it creeps_

_And leaps and glides and slides_

_Across the floor_

_Right through the door_

_And all around the wall_

_A splotch, a blotch_

_Be careful of the blob"_

They immediately sang the song again only this time they started added their own sliding and gliding movements as they sang it. They had just finished singing and dancing to the song for the fourth time by the time they reached Jo-Jo's house.

After dropping Jo-Jo off, Cuddy and Roy continued on their way home still singing the song from the movie. Jim chuckled as the two boys got closer. Harriett came out on the porch because she recognized the voices of the two singing boy with the unusual dance movements. Harriett looked at Jim and commented, "What on earth are those two boys up to?"

"Must be the latest dance craze sweetheart," Jim replied back.

"They look pretty silly, don't you think?"

"Would you rather they gyrated around like that Elvis kid?"

Harriett frowned, "I already caught Roy in front of his bedroom mirror trying out those moves". As both boys neared them she gave them both a quizzical look over the strange song they were singing.

Both boys stopped singing and Roy said, "It's the song to The Blob, Mom, not the 'Beans' song".

Harriett smiled at the two boys and shook her head. "Time for you to come in, set the table and wash up for supper, young man. You better not have ruined your appetite with junk food either," Harriett said giving Roy her 'angry' eyes.

"No Mom, Jo-Jo ate most of the popcorn and drank half my soda," Roy replied as his mother's expression changed to one of approval.

"See you later, Cuddy, and thank your Mom again for taking me shopping with you," Roy said to his friend as he scurried into the house.

"You kids have a good time at the movies?" Jim inquired as he prepared supper. Jim loved to cook and of course years of being a confirmed bachelor he learned to fix his own meals. He did a lot 'experimenting' with different foods and spices in the kitchen he actually was quite an accomplished cook. He was teaching Roy a few things about cooking but he knew it would be a couple of years before either he or Harriett would actually let him use the stove by himself.

"Jo-Jo thought the Steve guy in the movie was cute," Roy said and then added in a high pitched voice mimicking Jo-Jo, "He's got such gorgeous blue eyes".

Jim laughed and then replied, "Maybe one day she'll say that about your gorgeous blue eyes".

"I'd rather face The Blob instead," Roy said and then began quietly singing the catchy song again.

"One day you just might find Jo-Jo has enchanting green eyes," Jim couldn't resist teasing his stepson.

"EEeewww," Roy shuddered and made a sour face.

Roy began telling Jim about the mass of 'red jello' that came out of a meteorite and slowly devoured the old man who found it. Then he continued on about how the red slimy mass terrorized a movie theater and finally the Blob met its end at the diner where a guy named Steve used a fire extinguisher to freeze it. Then after they froze the Blob they dropped it off at the North Pole.

Jim laughed to himself, he had never heard of a more ridiculous movie. He continued to put the finishing touches on supper as Roy headed for the living room to let his mother know that supper would be ready in a few minutes before heading upstairs to wash up.

Once supper was finished and Roy helped out with the cleanup he was allowed out for a couple of hours to play with his friends. When the sun was beginning to set he was called in to take his bath and get his pajamas on. He took this time to rewrite his letter as neatly as possible. He folded up the letter neatly and then pulled out the gifts he had purchased earlier. He placed the letter in the front pocket of the shirt.

He then pulled out the wrapping paper and wrapped up his gifts taping the Father's Day card he made at school on top. He then put everything back under his bed and headed downstairs for his evening snack.

* * *

Harriett gently woke her son up the next morning before going downstairs for fix breakfast. Every Sunday they spent most of the morning attending church services. After wolfing down his breakfast he hurried back upstairs to clean up and put on his dress pants, shirt and tie. He grabbed his comb and headed to the washroom where he brushed his teeth. He then wet down his hair with the comb and neatly styled it the way his mother liked it before heading downstairs.

Roy wasn't crazy about sitting still for two hours in a pew and on hot days like this it felt even longer. Roy could see the Cuddahy's sitting a few pews in front of him and noticed Cuddy and his little sister Brenda elbowing each other. Near the front of the church sat the Johnson family. Eunice Johnson made sure her family sat near the front. Jo-Jo was wearing a pretty light blue dress with a matching ribbon in her neatly styled hair. She didn't look half bad all dressed up Roy thought. Jo-Jo's sister sat beside their mother and held her head in the same high and mighty way her mother did. Norman Johnson the consummate hen-pecked husband sat stoically with his family.

It was customary for Roy and his parents to go out to the local diner for an early lunch after church. A lot of other families from their church usually headed to Rollie's Diner after wards. At a nearby table sat the Cuddahy's and often times Cuddy would sit with the Finley's where he and Roy would make plans for their Sunday afternoon. Jim had the hedges to trim that afternoon so the boys couldn't finagle him into taking them fishing.

"Looks like you're going to need a hair cut soon," Harriett said to Roy as she brushed his bangs away from his eyes.

Roy looked horrified, "But Mom, you can't cut it. I need it longer so I can comb it the same way Elvis does".

"Roy your hair is too fine to comb it that way. It won't stay in place after it dries".

"That's what Byrlcream is for Mom," Roy argued back.

"Roy when you're in high school then you can do what you want with your hair, until then you will keep it neat and trim," Harriett said assertively.

Roy gave her a defeated look, "You just don't understand Mom. Help me out Jimbo".

Jim decided to end the argument, "Roy, don't argue with your mother it's only hair". He agreed with Harriett on the issue of Roy's hair. He noted that rough kids like Eddie Boyle tended to sport that type of hair style. He thought the ducktails the older boys sported made them look ridiculous. He had heard a couple of his mechanics complain about their teenage sons spending more time in front of a mirror than their daughters.

The Finley's and Cuddahy's continued with their lunch as their children chattered away. Roy and Cuddy were making plans to build a fort on the empty woodlot. Brenda was pestering her brother to let her help. Big tears formed in Brenda's eyes when her brother told her it was a 'Boy's Only' club. Len Cuddahy reminded the boy's that Jo-Jo wouldn't put up with them excluding girls from their club.

"Don't worry peach, Jo-Jo will sneak you in," he reassured his daughter. That seemed to dry up the tears in her eyes; Brenda looked up to Jo-Jo who often would spend time with her instead of her older brother and Roy.

Once they had arrived back home, Roy bolted into the house and up to his bedroom to change into his play clothes. He hung up his good clothes back into the closet for next Sunday. He quickly pulled out the Father's Day presents for Jim from under the bed and scurried to his parent's bedroom and placed them on top of the bed. He felt a little guilty about not putting Jim's gifts out this morning; he hoped that Jim didn't think he had forgotten about Father's Day.

He hurried off outside to met with Cuddy at the old woodpile at the edge of the empty lot. He knew Jim and his mother would shortly be changing out of their 'Sunday Best'. He was somewhat unsure about what Jim would think about the letter he stuffed inside the gift. A Jim had been a great father figure to him, but there was still a small little part of him that felt a little embarrassed about writing such a 'mushy' letter.

* * *

Jim had just finished changing from his suit to clothes more suitable for yard work. He noticed the gift Roy had left on top of the bed with a card on top. He had felt somewhat hurt over lunch when Len mentioned the Father's Day gifts his children had given him. Harriett had whispered reassuringly that Roy didn't forget about Father's Day. He was a little puzzled that Roy didn't leave these items out before church but sometimes Roy did things according to his own brand of logic. As with most children, their logic didn't always make sense to the adults in their world.

He picked up the handmade card and read it.

_To Jimbo,_

_Happy Father's Day_

_Love Roy_

He chuckled at the card with the picture of a frazzled looking man that Roy had drawn on it as he put it back on top of the gift wrapped box. Roy had taken to calling him Jimbo whenever he accompanied Jim to his shop. Jimbo was a nickname Roy had given him while he was dating his mother. Even his employees at work referred to him by that name thanks to Roy, he thought in amusement. He was also touched be the sentiment Roy had expressed in his card towards him.

Jim removed the wrapping paper from the gift and opened the box to see what was inside. He looked at the nice dark blue tie on top and then the light blue dress shirt underneath. He noticed the bulge in the pocket of the shirt and reached inside to find a piece of paper folded inside the pocket and took it out. After unfolding it he began to read it:

_Dear Dad:_

_Shortly before you came into my mother's life I always wondered what it would be like to have a Dad that would take the time to show me things and want to spend time with me. When I first met you I wasn't sure if you would want to have me around. I wondered if I was just an inconvenience you had to put up just so you could be with my mother._

_At that time, I thought all men were like my father. You know that story and I'd rather not revisit that part of my life because today is Father's Day and I'd like to honor the man who has been such a great father to me._

_I know I was a little tough on you when Mom first introduced us but you hung tough and eventually you wore me down. You are probably the most patient man I know and I finally did see what a great guy you were for my Mom. You've also been good for me as well._

_You married Mom knowing that I was part of the deal. I remember right after the wedding you were telling everyone what a great bargain you got; a pretty wife and a new son to boot. I loved how you and Mom made your honeymoon into our first family vacation together. Not many newlyweds would care to bring an 8-year-old along on a Hawaiian honeymoon. It was during those two weeks in Hawaii that I actually started to feel that the three of us made a pretty great family. You have been the person to complete this family._

_Mom is much happier living in this house rather than the small apartment we had together. It was pretty cramped there for the two of us and I know she worried about me being alone after school until she returned home from work. Even Mrs. Snapps promised to watch over me, Mom knew she couldn't always rely on her at times. It's also great not having to listen to the neighbors downstairs fighting all the time._

_It's kind of nice coming home and hanging out with you until Mom finishes work. By the way, your cooking is pretty good too. I know both you and Mom think I'm to young to leave alone after school for an hour or so (even though I disagree with that), it's very thoughtful of you to rearrange your work schedule so Mom can still do her job at the bank which she loves._

_I'd like to thank you for everything you have given my mother and me over the last year. I know my mother is very happy having you as a husband and that means a lot to me. I have no doubt you will keep the promise you made to me when you asked for her hand in marriage. You have given us more than just a bigger and better roof over our heads. You have given us your love and devotion._

_When we first met, you never resorted to spoiling me with tons of gifts to win me over. However, there is one special gift that you have given me; you have given me the greatest gift of all – a dad. In every sense of the word, you have been a great dad to me since we have gotten to know each other._

_You have been someone I can go to if I have a problem or in need of some help. When I do something wrong you correct me and explain why it was wrong. When things are going good or something great happens you are there to share it me._

_I just wanted you to know with this letter how much I admire you and to show my appreciation for all you have done for me as a father. No matter how small my problems may seem to you, you always take time to listen and talk to me about them. I am the luckiest boy in the world to have such a caring and loving man in my life to be my Dad._

_Thanks for choosing to be my father._

_Love,_

_Your son Roy_

Jim sat down on the bed after reading the letter. He was so touched that Roy had written this special letter to him. He felt his eyes mist over at the sentiments the young boy expressed in the last few paragraphs of the letter. He knew that Roy had put a lot of thought into what he wrote and he also knew how tough the boy's own father was on him and his mother in his early years. This was one letter he knew he would put in a safe place and keep with him for the rest of his life. He was overwhelmed with pride and love over the heartfelt feelings Roy had expressed towards him.

Harriett entered the room and saw her husband sitting on the bed holding the letter. She sat down beside him and asked, "Everything okay sweetheart? You look like...like you might be upset".

"Not upset dear, just a little touched by something Roy did", Jim said and he handed the letter to Harriett, "It was tucked in the pocket of the shirt he gave me. Here, why don't you read it?"

Harriett read the letter and handed it back to Jim when she was finished. She put her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulder. "Well it certainly looks like he made this Father's Day special for you".

"Yeah, he sure did. I never thought being a father could be so rewarding", he replied as he wrapped his arms a little tighter around his wife.

"I guess he did understand what we talked about the other day," Harriett said softly to herself.

"What do you mean sweetheart?" Jim inquired.

"Roy was asking me about what type of shirt and tie he should buy you for Father's Day and I tried to explain to him that you would rather he save his money instead of spending it on you," Harriett explained, pausing before continuing, "Anyway I tried to explain to him that expressing his feelings in a card is sometimes treasured more than the actual gift. It looks like he went a little farther than that, huh, dear".

"Well he certainly did didn't he?" Jim was pretty overwhelmed that Roy would spend some thought and time to write something so special for him. It wasn't going to be the shirt and tie he remembered from this Father's Day. "So where did our little scamp take off too," Jim finally asked noticing how quiet the house was.

"I think he's over at the lot waiting for Cuddy. They were talking about building a fort at lunch," Harriett answered.

"Well I wish he would have stuck around so I could have thanked him for his gift".

"I think Roy wasn't sure how you would react to...how would he put it…I know…getting such a 'mushy' letter from him".

"He's pretty special, just like his mother," Jim chuckled.

"His mother is married a man who happens to have the insides of a marshmallow. Face it Jim you're pretty soft and gooey on the inside," Harriett teased.

Jim gave her a smoldering look, "Mrs. Finley that sweet talk of yours is going to keep the hedges from getting trimmed".

Harriett winked at him while wagging a finger, "Your going to have to wait until later. I've got baking to do and you have hedges to trim as you just pointed out". She pulled herself from his embrace and stood up extending her hand to him. Once he took hold of her hand, she helped tug him onto his feet. Jim groaned in disappointment as he followed his wife out of the room.

"You want to be the one to tell Roy he can't build a fort on the empty lot or would you rather I do it. It's a shame the owner of that lot doesn't do something with it," Jim asked.

Harriett sighed, "I'll handle that when he comes back this afternoon. No sense you being the bearer of bad news today".

"I do appreciate that, honey," Jim replied as he gave Harriett a quick kiss before heading to the garage to get the clippers.

* * *

Roy sat by the woodpile at the end of the lot across the street waiting for Cuddy and Jo-Jo to arrive. He had a paper and pencil in hand and was beginning to draw out plans for the fort him and Cuddy wanted to build. He noticed a black spider about the size of a pea on his right outer thigh. He didn't feel the spider bite him before he brushed it off his leg and unknowingly onto the sleeve of his shirt. It was another fifteen minutes before Cuddy showed up and Jo-Jo a few minutes later.

After exchanging some insults with Jo-Jo, Roy noticed that his upper leg felt tingly and prickly and went to stand up thinking it was from sitting cross-legged for too long on the ground. He complained about his leg feeling 'crampy' just before Jo-Jo let out a scream as she spotted the black spider moving along his arm towards his wrist. Roy actually felt the spider bite him this time.

Cuddy quickly spotted an empty tobacco container near the woodpile and grabbed it. He managed to quickly scoop the spider into the container and close the lid. Cuddy just did a science project last month on spiders and he suspected that this one just might be a black widow which is why he though it was important to capture it. It certainly was the right size; however, he wasn't about to chance opening the container to see if it had an hourglass marking on it.

"Jo-Jo run across the street and get Mr. Finley, he's out trimming the front hedges right now," Cuddy said in an urgent tone as he pointed towards Jim across the street.

Roy wondered why Cuddy was sending Jo-Jo for Jim, "It's just a spider bite, its not like it's gonna kill me".

Cuddy looked seriously at Roy, "I think that was a black widow that bit you and you're gonna start feeling really crappy soon".

Roy panicked, everyone knew that a bite from a black widow meant certain and painful death, "I'm gonna die!"

Cuddy knew from information he had read when he researched his project that a lot of people were misinformed about the severity of a black widow bite. Only in rare cases did someone die from a black widow bite; normally anyone that died from a bite was either elderly or a very small child.

Cuddy remembered not being too thrilled about their teacher assigning them a 'killer' science project. He chose to do spiders because he knew most girls hated crawling insects. He made sure to include as much 'gross' stuff into his project as possible hoping the teacher would think twice before assigning another large project to the class. Once he begun the project he actually found it rather interesting some of the facts pertaining to different types of spiders.

He looked down at Roy he was now thankful for the knowledge he had acquired about some of the poisonous spiders. He quickly went through in his mind about the symptoms and basic first aid that could be done.

First he need to try and get Roy to calm down, "Quiet down Roy, you're not gonna die. Very few people die from black widow bites, however, you may start feeling real sick soon".

Roy went to stand up only to have Cuddy half carried him away from the woodpile and sitting him down on the grass. Cuddy looked at the bite mark near Roy's right wrist. He saw the two pinprick marks on Roy's wrist and knew it would be a short time before the surrounding area would begin to swell. He remembered Roy mentioning that his leg was cramping. He knew muscle cramping was one of the side effects from the spider bite.

"Roy did you get bit anywhere else, like your leg?" Cuddy asked.

"D-don't th-think s-so, brushed a s-spider from it before you got h-here," Roy answered. Cuddy wasn't sure if Roy was stuttering because he was scared of if it was another side effect of the spider venom. Roy was known to stutter when he was younger and during times when he was nervous he would also stutter. He noted that his friend was now complaining about a headache and by the time Mr. Finley arrived with Jo-Jo trailing behind him, he had thrown up once.

Jim came running over to the two boys. "What's going on…what's happened to Roy?" Jim said with a hint of panic in his voice.

"I'm pretty sure he got bit by a black widow. I think maybe twice but once for sure. I put the spider in here," Cuddy said as he held up the empty tobacco container.

Jim noted that Roy was now trembling as he picked up the boy and headed towards the house. Cuddy and Jo-Jo followed right behind them. Jim quickly opened the car door and laid Roy down in the back seat.

Cuddy remembered something about placing ice on the bites, "Mr. Finley I remember something about placing ice packs on the spider bites".

Jim quickly instructed Jo-Jo to go into the house let Harriett know what was going on and have his wife wrap ice in some hand towels and to make sure that the oven was turned off before leaving the house. A few moments later a panicked Harriett came running out to the care with some ice wrapped in a tea towel. "What's happened to Roy?" she asked Jim.

"Cuddy says he was bitten by a black widow and he's beginning to show some serious symptoms. We need to get him to the hospital right away," Jim answered noting a change in Roy's breathing pattern. It seem like he was having trouble breathing.

Jim instructed her to apply the ice to the bites on his right outer thigh and arm. Harriett climbed into the back seat of the car and cradled her son against her while holding an ice pack on his leg while another rested on his hand. Cuddy handed Jim the container of the captured spider. Jim quickly pulled the car out of the driveway and headed towards the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**Message From The Heart**

**The Delirium Threemen**

**Don't own the copyright to any of the characters depicted in Emergency they are the property of Universal Studios/****Mark VII Productions****. Content from the show is the property of the original creators. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All original characters and story content is the sole property of The Delirium Threemen and may not be used without permission.**

**Chapter 3**

By the time they arrived at the hospital Roy was complaining that it felt like something was sitting on his chest and that he that there was a lot of pain in his stomach area. The bite areas on his thigh and above his wrist were now showing redness and just some swelling. Jim dealt with the Admitting Clerk while Harriett had Roy propped up against her on a seat in the waiting area nearby. Shortly the three of them were ushered into a treatment room where they waited a few minutes to see a doctor.

They were introduced to Dr. Wilkins who examined the bite marks as a nurse began taking a set of vitals on Roy. It was noted that his blood pressure was elevated and he was beginning to run a fever along with having some trouble breathing. It was also very apparent the young boy was in a lot of pain. Dr. Wilkins remembered something about muscle cramping occurring with bite victims. This was the first black widow bite victim he had encountered in all his years as a physician.

Jim handed him the old tobacco tin which the doctor opened and removed the captured spider with a pair of tweezers. After examining the spider and determining by the red hour-glass marking on it's abdomen that it was indeed a black widow. He noted the two small pin prick puncture marks in each bite marks on the boy he was pretty certain he could rule out other conditions such as appendicitis. Dr. Wilkins left the room briefly to look up the treatment for black widow bites.

Shortly after returning to the treatment room Dr. Wilkins ordered an infusion of calcium gluconate for the muscle cramping, along with diazepam and morphine for pain. The doctor ordered that the boy be admitted and then took the parents outside of the room as the nurse began to remove the rest of the boy's clothing and get him into a johnny shirt before sending him up to the Children's Ward.

* * *

The hospital made it clear that it had strict visiting hours for the Children's Ward and that by 7:30 pm all visitors were required to leave the hospital. Harriett was furious; the last thing she was going to do was leave her sick son in the hands of strangers overnight. Jim assured her that he would talk to someone about making arrangements so they could stay with their son. Jim told her to hang tight for the next hour or so as he left the hospital to take care of a few things.

Jim quickly went to his shop and into his office. Searching his list of clients he found Bart Hatfield who was the Hospital Administrator for the Norwalk State Hospital. He quickly dialed the number and breathed a sigh of relief when the phone was answered on the fifth ring.

"Hello is Mr. Bart Hatfield available," Jim asked tentatively.

"This is Mr. Hatfield what can I do for you."

"Hey Bart this is Jim Finley I could really use some help from you."

"Help? Sure Jim, if I can."

"Listen Bart, my son is pretty sick and has just been admitted to your hospital. Harriett and I really don't want to leave him alone for the night," Jim said all in one breath.

"Oh my gosh! Jim, what on earth is going on with Roy," Mr. Hatfield asked with deep concern in his voice.

"He was bitten by a black widow spider. The doctor says it's rare for someone to die from that but for the next several days there could be a multitude of symptoms that he'll have to go through before the venom runs its course," Jim replied.

Mr. Hatfield was very relieved to hear the doctor's prognosis. Like most people he was under the assumption that a black widow bite could be deadly. "So exactly what do you need me to do for you Jim," Mr. Hatfield asked.

"I'm not one that likes to pull strings, but when it's my son's well-being at stake, well…I really would like you to see if you could perhaps arrange for Harriett or me to stay with Roy at least for the next few days," Jim asked.

"You mean as in overnight?"

"Yes Bart, I'm only asking to at least let one of us sit beside him for the next few nights, at least until the worse of the symptoms have played out".

"I could make sure a nurse sits by his side the whole time. Would that do?"

Jim pleaded with his friend, "Bart, a nurse just isn't the same as having a parent there. What would you do if it was one of your kids?"

Bart Hatfield thought a moment before answering. He knew the hospital rules would fly out the window if one of his children were in serious condition. "I'll make some calls and let the Dr. Wilkins along with the staff in the Children's Ward know you or your wife can sit the night with your son".

Jim breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks Bart, I owe you big time".

"Anytime Jim, anytime. I hope Roy feels better real soon. I'll let you get back to Harriett and your son. Feel free to call if you need anything else".

After exchanging good-byes the two men hung up, Jim locked up the office and the shop and headed back to the house for a few minutes. He would grab a few things that Harriett and Roy might need for the night. When he pulled into the driveway of his house he noticed that Cuddy and Jo-Jo where sitting on the steps.

"How's Roy doing Mr. Finley?" Jo-Jo asked in a trembling voice.

As anxious as he was to get back to the hospital, Jim sat down between the two kids and put an arm around each one, "Well, the doctor thinks that he'll eventually be fine it just going to be a matter of time for the spider venom to runs its course. He'll be in the hospital a week at least perhaps a little more."

"So he's not going to die?" Jo-Jo asked tearfully even though Cuddy had tried to tell her very few people died from black widow bites he didn't manage to quite convince her.

Jim smiled at the young girl, "No Jo-Jo but he's awfully sick at the moment but he will get better." Jim turned to Cuddy and continued, "You did good Chris. Harriett and I appreciate your quick thinking today". He clapped the boy on the back, "Why don't you take Jo-Jo home and Harriett and I will keep you posted over the next few days. Just look for our car in the driveway, that way you'll know one of us is home".

Jim gave the two children a quick squeeze before getting up and entering the house. He packed a fresh change of clothes for Harriett along with some of her toiletry items. He opened his bureau draw and pulled out the letter Roy wrote from him and put it in his pocket. He went to Roy's room and grabbed a pair of pajamas, his robe and slippers adding it the bag with Harriett's things in it. He grabbed Harriett and Roy's toothbrushes and some toothpaste as well and stuffed them in. Satisfied he had packed enough items he then headed back to the hospital.

* * *

Jim entered the Children's Ward and found Harriett sitting beside Roy's bed. Dr. Wilkins had just checked in on Roy about 15 minutes earlier. Although the boy seemed to be much more comfortable he was having some mild difficulties breathing nothing to be alarmed about but something to keep an eye on. Dr. Wilkins had ordered hourly checks on the boy until further notice.

He lay in the bed in an almost semi-conscious state at the moment emitting small moans occasionally. The bedside lights were turned off and the curtain was drawn around the bed to shield the boy from the light. He had begun to complain of the light bothering his eyes. Dr. Wilkins went over some of the symptoms Roy could possibly experience. He also reassured the couple that very few people actually died as a result of a black widow bite.

Around midnight Roy started sweating profusely. Luckily Roy's bed was closest to the bathroom which made it easier Harriett and Jim could use the sink to wet some towels in cold water to wipe the boy off. Harriett gently removed Roy's hospital gown while Jim draped a wet towel around his mid-section. Roy had recently developed an acute sense of modesty over the last year and a half.

Harriett and Jim spent the next couple of hours wiping Roy down with towels soaked in cold water. Nurse Wilma Jacobs changed the IV solution; her main concern was possible dehydration from the excessive sweating. She also brought in some ice wrapped in some towels for the couple along with a couple of fresh hospital gowns and bedding. She kept popping in periodically monitoring the boy for vital signs.

Wilma informed the couple that there may be more episodes of sweating to come. It was around 3:00 am by the time Jim convinced Harriett to go home and get some rest. Both knew that it could be several more nights with Roy in this condition before they would be comfortable leaving alone for the night.

When 7:30 am rolled around Jim was jostled out of his sleep by the sound of the bathroom door closing. He looked at Roy's bed and noticed he was still laying there. He heard the nurse bringing in the breakfast trays for the other boys in the ward. He heard the toilet flush just before a little boy of about 8 years in age popped out of the bathroom.

The little boy smiled at Jim before giving him a cheerful "Hello, I'm Kenny". Jim shook the small hand that was offered to him and in turn introduced himself and Roy.

"The bald munchkin's bum is showing. He better put on some pants before he goes to see the wizard. The wizard won't like seeing his bare bum," Roy said from his bed as he looked at the boy with half-opened glassy eyes.

The little boy laughed at Roy's statement and then said to Jim, "Does he always talk nonsense?"

Jim replied, "No…I'm not really sure why he's talking that way. It could be the medicine that he's been given". The little boy was then ushered to his bed by a nurse with red hair and a severe look to her face which was slightly overdone in makeup. The nurses must have switched shifts Jim thought, this nurse seemed a little more severe than the nurse named Wilma from last night.

After the nurse had put the other boy back in his bed, she pulled the curtain back. Roy grumbled about the sudden light bothering his eyes. Jim mentioned to the nurse that the light bothered his son's eyes and that it would be better if the curtain was drawn back around the bed to block the light. The nurse begrudgingly complied and left for a few moments before returning with a needle. She quickly explained that the doctor wanted a blood sample from Roy.

Roy saw the needle in the nurse's hand and screamed, "Don't let the Wasp Woman bite me! Get her away from me before she stings me!"

A befuddled Jim asked the nurse "Is it normal for him to be hallucinating? I mean this certainly isn't normal behavior for him".

The nurse responded briskly, "I'll double check with the doctor it could be the spider venom or it could be from the morphine. I'm going to need you to hold him still while I draw the blood. No doubt he'll fight me on that".

Jim held Roy down by both shoulders and blocked his view of the nurse. Jim wasn't too crazy about this nurse whose name tag read Agatha Beauxchet. She wasn't a very personal person, in fact, her manners matched her stiffly starched white uniform, Jim thought as the nurse finished drawing a vial of blood from the boy's arm. Definitely this nurse was at one time an army nurse as he observed her brisk manner.

Roy kicked up a fuss over having his blood drawn and carried on about not wanting the vampires from outer space to have his blood. It took several minutes for Jim to reassure the boy that everything was okay and that nobody was going to harm him.

In the morning the nurse brought Roy a tray of clear fluids for breakfast but shortly after consuming it Jim had to quickly grab a bed pan for the boy the vomit in. Once Jim had cleaned his son up, Roy finally fell asleep about 15 minutes later after his pain medication finally kicked in. He still moaned every once in a while but for the most part he seemed to be resting more comfortably and at least he wasn't hallucinating for the moment.

He could hear some of the other parents visiting with their children. He noted that Roy didn't seem to actually go into any deep sleep during the night and that he only had moments where he lightly dozed off. It bothered him that Roy wasn't getting any real rest.

Jim pulled Roy's letter out of his pocket and read it over several times, for some reason re-reading the letter seemed to reassure Jim that Roy was going to get through this. He prayed that the doctor was right. Dr. Wilkins had assured him that it was rare for children Roy's age to die from a black widow bite and that most deaths occurred with younger children or the elderly from what he read up on.

Jim's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Roy yelling for his mother. Apparently he was having a nightmare where he was reliving the night his father had attacked his mother. Jim quickly put the side rail of the bed down and gently wrapped his arms around the boy and began to reassure him that his mother was okay. It took him several minutes to calm the boy down.

Roy refused to unwrap his arms from around Jim's neck so he decided he was going to hold the boy in his lap. Jim managed to maneuver the IV pole over to the other side of the bed near his chair and he carefully lifted Roy out of bed and proceeded to sit down. Roy remained passively calm as Jim allowed the boy to snuggle against him. Roy was now staring intently at the wall and before long he was chuckling.

"What's so funny, Roy?" Jim wondered what his son was laughing at or about.

Roy replied in a matter-of-factly tone, "The caterpillars and butterflies".

"Where are they?"

Roy pointed over to the wall, "Right there, see there's a bright purple one, a round red one, a diamond shaped orange one".

"I see, so are there a lot of them or just a few?"

"There are four caterpillars and 5 butterflies…6 butterflies, one of the caterpillars just changed into a butterfly," Roy said pensively.

"I bet they're really pretty, huh?"

"It's like they're glowing…glowing colors." After a few moments of silence Roy said out of the blue, "It's nice sitting here with you watching my butterflies. No more caterpillars, they're all butterflies now".

"Yes son it is nice. You seem to be having a good time," Jim said with a smile. At least the hallucinations he was having were now nice ones and not scary ones, he thought.

Roy snuggled in tighter against Jim and then said, "I really love you dad," and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too son," Jim said with his voice full of mirth and gave the boy a kiss on the forehead. Roy then continued chattered away happily about what his butterflies were doing for a while longer.

As the pain medication wore off the iridescent butterflies disappeared along with his chattiness and Roy began to feel the aches, pains and cramping return. Jim held the boy tighter hoping to take some of the discomfort away from his son. It was going to be a little while longer before his next dose pain medication.

Jim returned Roy to his bed when he began sweating profusely again. He dampened some towels in cold water and began to wipe him down. The nurse had come in and administered his pain medication in the same impersonal manner she displayed earlier. Once this episode of sweating subsided Jim put a fresh gown on the boy and managed to put fresh sheets on the bed as well.

Harriett arrived back at the hospital around 11:00 am to relieve Jim. She had gotten a little sleep last night. She had spent a good part of her morning calling the school, her boss and making arrangements with Jim's shop manager to open the business for the day. She noted the dark circles under her son's swollen eyes. She knew from what her husband relayed to her that the boy had only managed to doze off for an hour or so here and there since being admitted.

Jim filled her in on Roy's episodes just in case the boy started to hallucinate on her watch. Harriett expressed some concern over this but Jim assured her he had only had one really bad episode and but most of the time he said a lot of things that didn't quite make sense. He warned her that Roy might kick up a fuss if the nurse came around especially if she was armed with a needle. She chuckled when he told her about the butterflies Roy had imagined earlier.

The doctor told her the first several days would be the toughest on him. She prayed that her son would have the strength to get through them. At least she or Jim would be here day and night until he was well enough to handle being left alone overnight. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for a sick child waking up alone in such a sterile looking place.

Over the next two days this became the pattern for Harriett and Jim. Harriett would spend most of the day sitting by Roy's side and Jim took over at night. It was normal for them to spend time together with Roy in the later part of the afternoon. Jim normally brought Harriet something to eat and the two of them would discuss what had gone on with Roy during the day. This was the only part of the day that Jim and Harriett seemed to spend together. Jim joked that the last couple of days it felt like they were just ships bumping into the night. Neither one complained about their own exhaustion; they were too wrapped up in helping Roy get better and comforting him when he needed it.

* * *

This was the forth day in a row that Harriett sat beside her son's bedside. Dr. Wilkins had noted that there was some improvement in Roy's condition. He wasn't having any trouble breathing which was a grave concern in the beginning and even his temperature had dropped a little. He was optimistic that soon he could start to decrease his dosage of morphine and eventually replace the pain killers with non-opiate based ones.

She sat on the bed beside her son gently stroking his damp hair until he fell into a light sleep. Once she was convinced that Roy was asleep she put the side rail back up on his bed and sat down in a nearby chair. She held onto his hand through the rail as she watched him sleep. It was agonizing for her to watch her normally active son lying there sick and exhausted.

Harriet was lost in her thoughts until she was rudely interrupted by a father yelling at his son a few beds down. Apparently the boy had taken a bad fall while trying to perform a stunt with his bicycle in and his father was apparently upset about the extra expenses of having his son in the hospital brought on by the boy's injury.

Roy was not fully awake when he heard the man yelling at his son about how the family vacation was ruined because of his carelessness. Roy felt his heart shatter; this was the first time Jim ever yelled at him and now he ruined the Grand Canyon trip. Tears slipped out of his swollen half-closed eyes. He heard other words like 'stupid', 'thoughtless' and 'irresponsible' that were yelled out. In his delusional state Roy believed that it was Jim actually yelling these words at him.

Harriett got up from beside Roy's bed and strode over to the angry father that was carrying on. "Sir, do you mind keeping your voice down? There are other's in this room that don't care for your yelling," Harriett said keeping his anger in check.

The man gave Harriett an annoyed look, "Why don't you mind your own business lady".

"You're making this everyone's business by yelling at your son in front of a room full of people. Are you such a simpleton that you believe your son purposely broke his leg to inconvenience you?" Harriett snapped back at the man. She knew in a room full of people that this bully of a father was too cowardly to even think about causing a bad scene with her.

The man angrily stormed out of the room; there were too many people around to 'teach' that busy body a lesson, he thought. His speechless wife remained seated beside their son's bed. Harriett quietly whispered to the woman, "If you need to talk I'll be beside the bed at the end of the row".

Harriett walked back to Roy's bed noting some smiles of gratitude from some of the other mother's that were in the room. She hadn't expected to run across too many fathers during the daytime visiting; this was the first time she recalled seeing a father here at this hour. If she had to take a guess as to why that one unkind father was here now it would most likely because it's his precious vacation time that his son had 'ruined' for him and used his 'visit' to berate the boy.

Harriett sadly knew that if the boy and his mother where being mistreated by the man it was most likely that she would never leave the situation. A woman in today's world is expected to put up with it, she thought sourly. She knew too well how hard it was for a woman to leave her husband and raise a child on her own. Unfortunately there are very few places for someone in a bad situation to turn to in today's world. Maybe one day there would be real help available to women and children in those situations, places of safety where they could seek refuge, she thought with a heavy heart.

Throughout the day she managed to get Roy to drink some fluids and so far he had managed to keep them down. She noticed he wasn't having as many bouts with nausea. After experiencing another bout of sweating Roy seemed to have fallen into a light sleep. Harriett thought that this would be a good time to step out for a few minutes to run down to the hospital cafeteria to grab some coffee and a quick bite to eat. She let the nurse at the nursing station know where she was going as she headed towards the elevators.

Several minutes after Harriett had left the room, Roy opened his eyes to find his self alone. Then the voices came back to him. Jim's voice was in his head yelling at him about ruining the family vacation, calling him stupid and thoughtless. Roy fought back the tears as a wave of deep sadness rushed through him. In his semi-drugged state Roy began confusing Jim with his father Tom and was wondering when the hitting was going to start.

He needed to go hide somewhere safe he thought. Looking around he noticed the curtain was drawn and nobody could really see him. Maybe he could go to Cuddy's house to hide out from his father. He quickly pulled the IV needle out of his arm. He then tried to figure a way out of the bed which seemed more like a giant crib to him rather than a bed.

He crawled to the end of the bed and slipped out taking advantage of the gab between the railings and the foot of the bed. He grabbed the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around himself. He slowly peeked out from behind the curtain and retreated because his eyes were very sensitive to the light. He adjusted the blanket so it formed a hood over his head and eyes. Yes, the blanket would help make him invisible, he thought as he crept out from behind his curtain.

He noticed some of the curtains closed around a few of the other beds and he could hear a boy complaining about getting his 'sponge bath' from the nurse. He continued to the door before the boy named Kenny in the bed beside him spoke, "Hey, are you sure you're allowed to be walking around?"

Roy put his finger to his lips, "Shhhhh, be very, very quiet little munchkin or you will upset the giant rabbit". Kenny looked quizzically at Roy as he slipped out of the door. The bald-headed little boy wondered what was going through the other boy's head.

"Hey nurse," called the Kenny.

"Quiet Kenneth, your bath is next so you just stay put," Nurse Beauxchet replied sharply from behind the closed curtain of another patient. It sounded like this patient was giving her a hard time over getting his sponge bath.

Roy glanced down the hallway and saw the stairwell. He quickly glanced in the other direction towards the nursing station and noticed the one nurse was preoccupied on the phone. He quickly dashed a short distance down the hallway out of the viewing range of the nursing station. He then quietly he walked rest of the way to the stairwell and entered it.

After making it down one flight of steps, Roy felt his legs begin to cramp up so he sat his achy body down on the stairs and slid down the next three flights. Once he got to the end of the stairs he decided to hide in the alcove off to the side where someone wouldn't be able to see him if they were entering the stairwell. He wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and curled up in the dark corner. His blanket of invisibility would keep him from being found, he thought. He needed to rest for a while and he noted that some of the muscle cramps and pain were beginning to return.

* * *

**Author's note:**

**I'm not in the medical profession nor do I play one on TV ;-).**

**As far as dosages and other medical treatment related stuff I have chosen to not go into great detail about those things. I did verify what types of drugs would be used in this scenario and researched the reactions from a black widow bite which can vary for extremely mild to extreme. Any inaccuracies are probably due to misunderstanding something I read.**

**Colorful bugs would visit my MIL when she was on morphine and would fade away as the dose wore off.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Messages From The Heart**

**The Delirium Threemen**

**Don't own the copyright to any of the characters depicted in Emergency they are the property of Universal Studios/****Mark VII Productions****. Content from the show is the property of the original creators. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All original characters and story content is the sole property of The Delirium Threemen and may not be used without permission.**

**Chapter 4**

Harriett was barely gone fifteen minutes when she returned to the Children's Ward only to find an empty bed and Roy nowhere in sight. She quickly went to the Nursing Station to inquire about the whereabouts of her son. She learned that there was only one nurse manning the station at this time while the other nurses where either tending to other patients in the area or delivering lunch trays. A missing child code was quickly sounded for the missing boy throughout the hospital. Harriett was beside herself with worry; why would Roy just up and leave and where would he have gone in the state he was in.

An hour later there was still no sign of the missing boy. Harriett was now in a full fledged panic and called home to let Jim know that their son was missing. Jim arrived within half an hour after Harriett's call. The hospital administrator met with them outside of the Children's Ward. Bart Hatfield promptly coordinated a hospital wide search for the boy. It was almost an hour and a half since the boy had gone missing.

Jim managed to keep his own tangled emotions in check in order to keep Harriett from going hysterical. Bart kept reassuring them that everything possible was being done to find their son. It was a good thing Jim came in to help keep Harriett from turning into a mother bear in full fledged attack mode, Bart thought.

* * *

Dr. Joe Early was almost finished his afternoon rounds and was headed upstairs to the Children's Ward to check on his young patient Kenny Whitley. The doctor preferred to take the stairs because it gave him the opportunity to get some exercise; like most doctors he was limited in the amount of free time he could dedicate to more pleasurable pursuits. He had only just began practicing a few short years ago having decided to spend a few more additional years in med school to specialize in Neurology.

He had decided that at thirty-five he was getting a little too long in the tooth for marriage. His dark hair was already beginning to grey a little at the temples. Besides, he thought, where would I find the time for a wife and children? At least now he could afford eat a lot better than he did in med school even if it was alone. All those years of peanut butter sandwiches were now long behind him.

He entered the stairwell and began climbing the stairs but stopped suddenly when he heard a very soft moan. He remained still for a moment before he heard it again. It sounded like it was coming from the area beside the stairs, he thought. He knew about the missing boy from the Children's Ward and decided to investigate. The hospital code for a missing patient had been called and all areas had received a description about the missing boy. He entered the darkened alcove and found a small body wrapped tightly in a blanket.

Dr. Early approached the boy carefully and in a soft voice said, "Hey little fellow what are you doing hiding here?"

"Leave me alone," a muffled voice said under the blanket.

Dr. Early chuckled, "No can do little guy. I bet you're the little boy everyone around here is searching high and low for?"

"Nobody's looking for me. You got the wrong kid mister," Roy said as he peered out from the blanket. The muscle cramps were starting to become worse and he was beginning to feel a little nauseated.

Dr. Early bent down and began to pick the boy up, "That hospital blanket and gown are a dead give away?"

Roy wasn't in much shape to put up a fight; he was feeling pretty crappy at the moment but he still didn't want to face his angry parents, "Hey mister, can you just get me to Cuddy's house?"

Dr. Early chuckled, "How about before I take you back upstairs we have a little talk about why you don't want to stay here."

"Could you just take me to Cuddy's and we can talk on the way there?"

"No deal bucko. How about we find someplace a little more comfortable to talk, such as the lounge?"

"Alright, have it your way," Roy said in defeat.

Dr. Early carried the boy out the stairwell and down the hall to the lounge. He set the boy on the couch and promised the boy he would be back in a minute. It took him a moment to find a nurse; he quickly informed her that the missing boy was in the lounge and to inform the Children's Ward he would return the child shortly.

When Dr. Early re-entered the lounge he noted that the boy seemed to be in more discomfort. "Well young man, why are you so determined to leave this place?"

Roy held his hand over his eyes to block the light. He noted the dark haired man was wearing a white coat and asked, "Are you a mad scientist?"

"I'm Dr. Early, but you can call me Dr. Joe; and no I'm not a mad scientist. Would you mind telling me your name?"

"Roy sir," he replied wrapping the blanket a little tighter around himself.

"Well Roy, how about you tell me why you want to go to Cuddy's house," Dr. Early asked in a soft gentle voice.

Roy chewed on his lip a little before answering, "My parent's are mad at me".

"Do you have any idea why they are mad at you?"

Roy hesitated but there was a kindness in Dr. Joe's blue eyes that made him feel that he could trust the doctor. "I ruined our plans for our family vacation", he replied as he remembered the voice yelling earlier that morning.

"How did you ruin it?"

"By getting sick".

Dr. Early was a little astounded that a parent would get upset over something the boy would have no control over. "So you believe their mad because you're sick?" he asked.

"I heard my dad yell at me for being stupid and ruining vacation," Roy replied holding his head down to hide the tears.

Dr. Early looked sadly at the boy. Sometimes parents didn't realize how much damage they could inflict to their children with harsh words. Regrettably he knew that if the boy was sick the best place for him was the hospital. The boy seemed to be in much more physical pain then when he first brought him to the lounge.

"Roy, do your parents yell at you a lot?" Dr. Early asked with great concern.

Roy looked a little confused over the question before briefly explaining how his mother left his father and then Jim came into their lives, eventually marrying his mother. He talked about how nice Jim had been to him and his mother so far up until he remembered the yelling. Roy finished answering the question by telling Dr. Joe how horrible he felt about the family not being able to go on vacation next week because he got sick from a spider bite and now mad Jim was with him over it.

What Dr. Early found puzzling was when the boy described his stepfather he never mentioned the man treating him badly, in fact from the sounds of things the man treated him rather well. He wasn't sure what to make of the sudden change in attitude of the boy's stepfather. He decided he would return the boy to the Children's Ward where they could administer medication for his symptoms. Dr. Early picked the boy up from the couch and proceeded to carry him back to his hospital bed.

* * *

Harriett and Jim were very much relieved when they were informed Roy had been found hiding in a dark corner of the stairwell. They waited impatiently for him to be returned to the floor. They both thanked Bart Hatfield for being on top of the matter. Dr. Wilkins had just arrived on the floor. He order a nurse to take a set of vitals while he assessed Roy' condition. Bart was relived to see the bear in Harriett retreat.

Dr. Early got off the elevator and handed the boy off to Dr. Wilkins and a nurse. He politely requested a meeting with Harriett and Jim. The three headed to an empty room on the floor where Dr. Early first introduced himself to the couple.

"Before I begin, you may think this is none of my business and perhaps it isn't but I did manage to find out why your son decided to go AWOL today," Dr. Early began.

Harriett looked intently at Dr. Early and replied, "Do go on Dr. Early. Neither one of us is really sure why Roy left his bed this morning".

Dr. Early explained to the couple what Roy had relayed to him about Jim yelling and blaming the boy over their vacation plans being ruined. A stunned Jim answered, "What in tarnation would make Roy believe something like that. I've never so much as raised my voice to the boy since I've known him".

Harriett put a comforting arm on Jim's shoulder; she knew exactly where Roy got that idea from. "I'm afraid that Roy must have overheard another father in the room that was yelling at his son this morning. I thought Roy was finally asleep. I should have known better, he's only been dozing off for the most part; not really sleeping," Harriett bit her lip before she continued, "Somehow he must have gotten it in his head that the yelling was from Jim". Harriett then explained the incident with the other father in the room berating his poor son.

Jim expressed his disbelief that a father could be so callous towards his own son. He mentioned that they were making plans to visit the Grand Canyon the first week of July the day before Roy was admitted to the hospital. Jim explained about the nightmare Roy had had during the night about his father and the hallucinations he was having. He also mentioned some of the things Roy had said like his comments to the nurse and the boy in the next bed.

Dr. Early surmised that it certainly was possible that Roy confused the raging father's comments as being directed at him especially since he overheard the word vacation. It was the only explanation that made sense. The fact the Roy was on morphine could cause him to become easily confused and to mistakenly believe the comments where directed at him. Certainly the man in front of him seemed more concerned about his stepson's welfare than anything else. He had trouble visualizing this man as a yeller.

Both Harriet and Jim thanked Dr. Early for finding their son and taking the time to let them know what was going through Roy's mind. Dr. Early just recommended that perhaps a little extra reassurance from Jim would probably cure the doubts in their son's mind.

Dr. Early escorted the couple back to Roy's bedside. Dr. Wilkins had just ordered more diazepam and morphine for the boy's pain and muscle cramps. He was now using a lower dose of the morphine and hopefully soon he would be able to discontinue it. Normally it was the first three to five days after a black widow bite that tended to be the roughest.

Jim requested a few minutes alone with Roy and Harriett offered to go down to the cafeteria and bring her husband back something to eat. He must have gotten very little sleep before she had called him back to the hospital. Dr. Early closed the drapes and followed Dr. Wilkins out of the room.

"Hey scamp," Jim said softly as he put the side rail down on the bed and gently sat down beside Roy. Roy kept his head turned away from him. Jim wasn't too sure how he was going to convince his son that he wasn't upset with him. He gently squeezed the boy's shoulder before he began to speak again.

"Roy I know you believe I'm upset over you getting sick. You overheard someone else yelling at their son. To be honest, that last thing on my mind right now is our vacation plans".

Roy turned his head towards Jim and spoke in a choking voice, "You've never been upset with me before".

"That's right Roy and I'm not upset with you now. I've been more worried about you than anything else the last couple of days. Do you remember telling me about the butterflies last night?"

Roy thought a moment before answering, "I don't remember much about last night except…except that you were here…holding me". Roy felt puzzled; why would Jim be holding him and softly talking to him. He couldn't remember what Jim said all he could remember was the tone of his voice, deep, tender, and soothing. He didn't remember Jim getting mad at him. But who was doing the yelling? Roy was trying to organize the voices and thoughts that were crashing into each other inside of his mind.

"That's right, son, I was here the whole night with you. You were telling me about the colorful caterpillars and butterflies you were seeing on the wall," Jim replied gently.

"I-I don't remember them…did you get mad at me last night?" a confused Roy asked.

"No…I never got mad at you. Roy. Son, do you ever recall a time since we've know each other where I've ever been angry with you? Yelled at you?"

"No sir, never," Roy said with his eyes downcast.

Jim pulled Roy's Father's Day letter out of his pocket, "You know who wrote this wonderful letter to me?" Roy nodded and Jim continued, "A person who I love dearly, with all my heart wrote this letter for me," Jim said feeling the emotions welling inside of him.

Roy could feel the tears welling up in his eyes at Jim's words as he remembered what he wrote in this letter to Jim. He reached out his arms towards Jim and felt his strong arms enfold him in a hug. "I'm so sorry…I don't know why I thought…some things aren't making sense…"

Before he could continue Jim gently shushed him. "Its okay son…it wasn't your fault. Just remember how much I love you". Jim held onto his son tightly he knew that if Roy wasn't sick and hadn't heard another father yelling at his son this event wouldn't have happened. Roy murmured an 'I love you' back and Jim knew things were already right between them.

* * *

Harriett had just got off the elevator with a coffee and sandwich in hand when she ran into Dr. Early for the second time that day. He politely held the door open for her as she entered the Children's Ward. Noticing the two most important men in her life in an embrace she quietly set her armload down on the table beside the bed. "Is there room for one more?" Harriett asked as she placed one arm around her husband and the other around her son.

"Always room for the most beautiful wife and mother in the world," Jim said kissing her on one cheek while Roy kissed her on the other.

On the other side of the curtain, Dr. Early was checking on his young patient Kenny Whitely. When the young boy was first brought into the hospital he wasn't sure what the outcome would be. The young fellow had suffered a severe head injury when a neighborhood bully decided to bash the poor boy's head into a brick wall at school. He remembered doing the surgery to relieve the pressure building up in the boy's skull from a subdural hematoma and also how he had to face the boy's worried and anxious parents without a definite outcome to give them on the fate of their son.

He hated telling parents in dire situations to basically wait and see. Thankfully, the outcome for Kenny looked extremely positive. Dr. Early wondered if there was a little boost of help from something greater than medical skill alone that provided little miracles here and there in cases like Kenny's.

Dr. Early greeted his precocious eight-year-old patient, "Hey Kenny how's the ol' noggin today?"

"Pretty good, Dr. Joe, the dizziness is almost gone and no seizures in almost a week. Still have headaches though," chirped Kenny.

"Hopefully in time those too will disappear. If you keep this up I'll have to send you home," he quipped back good-naturedly as he continued to examine his young patient.

"Just when the entertainment is getting good," Kenny answered pointing to the curtain separating his bed from Roy's.

"Now Kenny, that's not going to last much longer. Maybe a few more days the boy in the next bed will start to feel much better and you might have someone to talk to," Dr. Early chuckled. "So is your mom coming to see you today?"

"She should be here soon. She's promised to bake some oatmeal cookies for me this morning."

"Well don't eat them all at once, save at least one for me," Dr. Early said with a wink.

Dr. Early and his young patient continued to talk for a few more minutes until his mother entered the room. "Well hello Mrs. Whitely, Kenny and I were just waiting for you and some cookies to arrive".

"Hello Dr. Early, is Kenny talking your ear off?" the dark haired woman said good-naturedly.

Dr. Early smiled at the woman, "Absolutely, listen while you're here how about we step out in the hall for a moment".

"Betcha gonna be talking about me, huh?" a perceptive Kenny said.

Dr. Early chuckled, "Can't get anything by you can we Kenny?"

Mrs. Whitely handed Kenny a box, "Your favorite as promised". Kenny opened the box and quickly pulled out a cookie as Dr. Early and his mother headed out into the hallway for a few minutes.

Once out in the hallway, Dr. Early explained to Mrs. Whitley how pleased he was with Kenny's progress and felt that most likely within the next week or two he would be discharging him. Luckily Kenny hadn't had any seizures for almost five days and physically he was getting stronger everyday. Mrs. Whitley breathed a sigh of relief. Initially when Kenny was first brought in there were no guarantees that there wouldn't be any permanent brain damage. Dr. Early assured her that at this stage in Kenny's recovery he was very optimistic for a full recovery. When their brief discussion was over he escorted Mrs. Whitely back into the room.

* * *

Harriett and Jim had finally managed to get Roy to sleep. She began to blame herself, "I should never have left him alone not even for a second". Jim assured her that it wasn't her fault; neither one of them ever would have thought that Roy would have tried to leave his bed much less the hospital. They both sat on the bed beside their son.

Jim managed to finish the sandwich and coffee that Harriett had brought him. Noting how tired looking her husband was she insisted he go back home and try to get some more sleep. He made her promise to call him if she herself became too tired or if anything else happened. After Jim left, Harriett put the side rail back up on the bed and sat down in a chair. She held onto her son's hand as he slept and soon she found herself dozing off.

She was awoken when Roy began stirring. She quickly checked on him and noted that he was beginning another episode of sweating. She quickly got up and began dampening towels in cold water. She draped a damp towel around his midsection and used the other towels to wipe him down.

Mrs. Whitley poked her head inside the curtain surrounding the next bed to see if she could be of some help. "Excuse me, could you use a hand," she asked Harriett.

"Thanks, if you could just rinse these towels in cold water and give them back to me that would be a big help," Harriett smiled gratefully at the woman. A half hour later Roy had stopped sweating and Harriett had managed to settle back down. He was resting but not really asleep.

"Thanks for the help, I'm Harriett by the way," she said as she extended her hand to the dark haired woman.

"I'm Kaye, my son Kenny is in the next bed", she said giving Harriett a smile as the two shook hands.

"I hope your son is going to be alright…I don't mean to pry…its just that we almost lost Kenny several weeks ago…," Kaye stammered quietly.

"He's going to be fine…and no you're not prying…", Harriett replied back. Soon the two women began talking about their sons and why they were at the hospital. Harriett was very relieved that Kaye's son was going to be alright. They must have been talking for almost half an hour before Kenny came over and stood by his mother. Harriett introduced herself and her son to Kenny.

Roy giggled and said, "What's Dorothy doing with a munchkin, I thought she had a dog?"

Harriett blushed at his outburst, "Shhhhh…try and go back to sleep Roy".

"But Mom, the butterflies are here…don't you see them? They're so colorful and pretty…" he said as he began staring at his imaginary butterflies.

"You'll have to excuse him, he seems to be suffering some side effects from the medication they have him on," Harriett said to Kenny and his mother.

"He's a real laugh riot, Mom," Kenny replied in good humor.

"Kenny, don't be rude, Roy's not himself," Kaye reprimanded.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"I think it's time to get you back into your bed. I need to get back home so I can take care of your brother and sister," Kaye said to her son. She turned to Harriett, "It was so nice to meet you. Take care," she said as she got up to leave.

Harriett smiled back, "Thanks so much for your help," she said. She sat back down to monitor her son and noted that he was still staring at his imaginary butterflies. He was quiet and pensive at the moment giving her the opportunity to sit back and rest for a period of time. She couldn't help but overhear the short conversation between Kenny and his mother. Harriett felt a little guilty because normally she wasn't one to ease drop on people's private business but there were a few things in their conversation that caught her attention.

"Mom, when's Dad coming up I haven't seen him in almost a week?" Kenny inquired.

"Your Dad's been very busy. He's taken on some extra work at the moment," Kaye replied. She knew how badly Kenny missed his father but with the hospital bills starting to pile up Larry didn't have much choice but to find a second job doing part-time work in order to make ends meet.

"You mean the paycheck from Wes Mendalson bounced again," Kenny said in annoyance. He wished his father could find a job with a more dependable employer. At least one who paid his employees on time and didn't expect people to work for nothing, he thought sourly.

"Kenny, you don't need to be worrying about these matters. Your father and I have always managed to get by," Kaye reassured her son.

"But Mom, it's not fair that Dad works so hard and Mr. Mendalson doesn't even have the decency to pay him on time for his work".

"I know Kenny and your father is trying to find work at another shop but the job at Mendalson's is better than nothing at the moment," Kaye replied. It was frustrating that her husband was a hard working, honest mechanic and was stuck at the moment working for someone like Mendalson.

Kaye's husband Larry confided in her that it was only a matter of time before Wes Mendalson's business went under. He wasn't meeting payroll on time and many his customers were leaving. The only thing keeping the business afloat at the moment was a couple of contracts with other businesses to maintain their company vehicles. Larry knew it was a matter to time before Mendalson lost those contracts.

"I just wish Dad didn't have to works so hard. I guess I'm missing him and I miss not begin at home," Kenny replied.

"Well, I'll see if I can get your Dad to take a few minutes tonight to come and see you," Kaye promised. She felt for her husband who was somewhat caught between a rock and a hard place. Larry hated the fact that he hadn't visited Kenny in almost a week but at the same time he needed to provide for his other two children as well especially since he hardly worked during the first few weeks that Kenny was in the hospital.

Kaye and her son exchanged good-byes before she headed off to home. Harriett knew she had heard the name of Mendalson at her job at the bank and she began to rack her brain trying to remember where she had come across it. She felt somewhat guilty at overhearing the conversation between Kenny and his mother. Finally she recalled the loan application that Wes Mendalson put in for his business. Her bank had turned down the he had applied for. She was also privy to the fact the Mendalson's business was on the verge of bankruptcy. She knew it was a matter of time before Kaye's husband would have no job.

She wondered if there was anything Jim might be able to do to help Kaye's husband out in terms of finding a job. She would make a point of talking to Jim about seeing if there was a way he could hire another mechanic. Maybe he knew of a competitor that was hiring? Jim ran an honest and good business and very rarely did he lose many contract bids unless a competitor underbid him. Even in those situations more often than not he normally ended up re-acquiring the contract when it came up for re-bidding because they like his service better.

Harriett knew she couldn't come out and warn Kaye that Mendalson's business was ready to go under because that was confidential information. She instantly liked Kaye and found her son refreshingly honest and somewhat sweetly comical. Kenny was an endearing little boy who certainly didn't deserve to be here because of a playground bully who sounded much like Eddie Boyle from her neighborhood. She thought it unfair that the Whitley's faced extra financial burdens because of Kenny's encounter with a thoughtless underage thug. She was glad that Roy and his friends tended to stick together whenever Eddie Boyle reared his head.

Roy began groaning and Harriett knew it was going to be another forty-five minutes before his next dose of medication. She sat down next to him on his bed and began talking to him to try and get his mind off of the cramping body. She managed to keep him preoccupied until the nurse finally showed up with his medications. She never did care for the brisk nature of this nurse who seemed to always be on shift during the daytime.

It was almost 5:30 before Jim returned to relieve Harriett. He brought her some supper and the two of them made some small talk while they ate. He was relived to hear that there were no further incidents other than having a sweating episode. Roy was relatively calm for most of the afternoon. Shortly after his arrival the nurse began handing out the supper trays for the other children in the room.

Roy was still on a clear fluid diet for the time being until his stomach could handle something heavier. So far today he had managed to keep everything down so hopefully tomorrow he would be allowed a full fluid diet. Roy's eyes grew big with fear as he looked at the tray in front of him, his eyes fixated on the red jello.

"It's the Blob, quick freeze it and get it to the North Pole," he screamed in a panic. This outburst brought the nurse back into the room. Once she saw that Jim and Harriett had everything under control she gave the boy a stern look before heading out of the room. Harriet distracted Roy while Jim disposed of the jello.

They managed to get Roy to drink the other fluids on the tray before trying to get him to rest. Finally Roy dozed off and Harriett took the opportunity to take Jim outside of the room. They remained by the door just in case Roy got it in his head again to get up and leave. Harriett told Jim about the conversation she overheard between Kenny and his mother.

Jim gave a deep sigh, "Most of us in the business are aware it's only a matter of time before Mendalson runs his shop into the ground. A lot of the other shops are pretty wary of even hiring somebody that has worked for him". Jim went on to explain to Harriett that he knew that Mendalson was on the verge of losing his largest contract because of faulty work and there was a possibility of a lawsuit being submitted by his client pending an investigation.

"Harriett, if it's proven that truck crashed as a result of shoddy work on Mendalson's part his company is going to go down fast. Mendalson's praying the investigators find evidence of driver error", Jim exclaimed in a low voice to his wife.

There were very few people outside of the area mechanic shops that knew of this incident involving a Vilmer's Transport whose trucks were being serviced by Mendalson. The company had complained of other vehicles where Mendalson failed to provide proper maintenance on and has a result they faced some safety fines from the inspectors. One rig had its brakes fail apparently causing a major accident on the interstate. There were three fatalities from that accident including the driver of the rig.

Luckily the truck had just dropped off its load and was returning to Vilmer's yard when the accident occurred. Sometimes Vilmer transported industrial chemicals to local area plants and Jim shuddered to think of what would have happened if the accident had occurred before the trucker dropped off his load. There probably would have been more fatalities from a resulting explosion or from chemical exposure, Jim thought.

Harriett pleaded with Jim to just introduce himself to Kaye's husband if the opportunity presented itself. She understood that Jim felt a lot of the mechanics who worked for Mendalson had either the same work ethic as their employer or where encouraged and bullied into doing shoddy work. The last thing his shop needed was a bad apple.

"Okay, dear, I'll at least introduce myself to the man if he happens to visit his son tonight," Jim finally relented. He knew Harriett felt bad for the Whitley's predicament. Maybe Kenny's father was a decent hardworking mechanic?

Jim and Harriett went back into the room to check on Roy. He looked like dozing lightly, his reddish brown colored lashes rested against the sooty looking dark circles under his eyes. He really hadn't gotten any real sleep since this ordeal began. They were hoping maybe by tomorrow he could have the doctor order the boy something to help him actually sleep instead of just dozing off here and there. The morphine tended to prevent him from sleeping soundly.

Harriett gave him a light kiss on the forehead which caused Roy to stir a little. Both she and Jim breathed a sigh of relief when he seemed to settle back down. Jim sat down on the bed beside Roy while Harriett sat in a nearby chair. They remained silent for fear of waking their son. A few moments latter they noticed Roy staring at them and then staring around at his curtains. They figured his little imaginary winged friends were back.

Harriett got up to leave and leaned in to give Jim a kiss, "I hope you two can stay out of trouble tonight?" She did the same for her son and exchanged good-byes with him before leaving for the evening. Jim and Roy began a game of Eye Spy as Harriett walked out the door knowing Jim was going to have a hard time beating Roy at that game especially since he was seeing things that weren't there.

Nurse Wilma Jacobs came in shortly afterwards to check on Roy's vitals and noted that his temperature was down and even though his blood pressure was still high it also was somewhat lower than it was during the day. Jim asked about the possibly the doctor ordering a sedative or something to help Roy sleep. He was concerned that the boy hadn't had any real sleep since he was admitted almost four days ago. Wilma mentioned that she would put a call into the doctor about it. She reassured Jim that Roy was improving and would see him in another hour when it was time to give Roy his meds.

It was going on 7:00 pm when Kenny's father finally arrived to visit his son. Larry Whitley greeted his son with a big hug.

"Hey kiddo, sorry I haven't been up to see you in a while," a tired Larry Whitley said to his son.

"We missed Father's Day together. I wish I could have made you a card or something," Kenny said regretfully.

Larry smiled at his son, "I already have gotten my Father's Day present and he's going to be fine according to the doctor".

"That is so corny Dad," Kenny smiled back at his father.

"Kenny having three healthy children is the best thing any father could ever ask for and that's being not corny".

Kenny and his father continued to talk for several minutes before Nurse Jacobs returned with Roy's meds. Once she administered those she went on to check on Kenny.

Kenny teased the nurse, "Well hello gorgeous".

Wilma blushed slightly, "You are such a sassy little guy. Guess what? No meds for you tonight".

"You're breaking my heart pretty lady", Kenny said with a touch of sarcasm

Wilma looked over at Kenny's father, "I bet he has a whole gaggle of girls chasing after him with that charming demeanor of his?"

"Not sure who he gets his charm from, it sure isn't from his father," Larry laughed.

Nurse Jacobs gave Kenny a saucy wink before checking in on the next bed beside him. Jim decided he would take the opportunity to introduce himself to Larry Whitley. Roy was quiet for the time being even though he wasn't really asleep. Jim got up and headed towards the next bed.

Jim cleared his throat, "Excuse me, my son's in the next bed and earlier in the day your wife was kind enough to offer her assistance. My wife greatly appreciated her help and I just think it's only proper that I extend that gratitude as well".

Larry smiled at the man, "You're welcome, I'm Larry Whitley and this is my son Kenny".

Jim extended his hand and Larry accepted it, "Jim Finley, my son Roy is in the next bed". Jim noted that Larry Whitley's face when he introduced himself. It was apparent that the man recognized his name. Finley Motors was fairly well known in this area of town.

"Pleasure to meet you," Larry replied.

"You should meet his wife Dad, she looks like Betty Grable with the legs to match," Kenny piped up. Larry turned a deep shade of red.

Jim said smothering a chuckle, "I see your son has an eye for pretty ladies".

"Kenny…", Larry said in a slightly admonishing tone.

Kenny seemed not to heed the warning and continued, "But Dad, his son thinks Mom looks like Dorothy and I'm a munchkin".

"I see your son's eyes are working fine as well. Kenny does look like a munchkin," Larry replied with a smile.

Both men then began easing into a conversation about their families and Jim was getting a good feeling about the man's character even though he was bit leery of the man when he heard that he worked for Wes Mendalson. Larry had told him he moved from Indiana Springs for what he thought was a promising job with Mendalson.

Before that he had worked on some of the military vehicles from a nearby army base. Jim's perked up when he mentioned that he maintained some of the fighter jets used in World War II. Jim actually served as a fighter pilot in the war and was one of the fortunate ones to return. Jim finally mentioned that he owned and operated Finley Motors and suggested that Larry drop in to check things out at his shop. Jim told Larry he was working on obtaining a few new contracts and might be in need of a couple of new mechanics if he was successful in his bids.

Jim finally excused himself when he noticed that in another fifteen minutes visiting hours would be over. He didn't want to impose on Larry's time with his son any more than he already had. Jim actually had a good feeling about the man. He seemed hard working, honest and a dedicated family man. He was somewhat surprised that he got bamboozled into working for Mendalson with false promises. Jim sighed and decided that if he was successful with his bid for Nelson's Trucking then he would bring Larry in for an interview. He knew without the contract that he would have no real reason to hire another man on.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**The hospitals in my area issue a code yellow for a missing patient however, hospital codes vary from place to place and from what I read up on it wasn't until recently that L.A. standardized their codes between hospitals. To be honest I don't know if there was a coding system in place in the late 50's that covered things like missing patients and such.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Messages From The Heart**

**The Delirium Threemen**

**Don't own the copyright to any of the characters depicted in Emergency they are the property of Universal Studios/****Mark VII Productions****. Content from the show is the property of the original creators. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All original characters and story content is the sole property of The Delirium Threemen and may not be used without permission.**

**Chapter 5**

Roy's condition improved steadily over the next few days to the point where he was finally onto analgesics for any remaining pain. He had been at the hospital a little over a week. Since improving Harriett and Jim began sticking to the regular hospital visiting hours. Dr. Wilkins had also informed them that he felt that within the next few days Roy would be well enough to go home.

Kenny and Roy were sitting on his bed playing a card game. Kenny was waiting for Dr. Early to give him the official word in when he could go home. Both of their mothers were in the cafeteria downstairs having a late lunch together. The two roommates talked about school and their friends at home while they played. A boy with the broken leg a few beds down looked over at the two in annoyance, "You knoOOoow you're not supposed to be out of your bed Kenny".

"What else are we suppose to do all day. Sit and stare at the ceiling, geesh Craig, if you want we can come over to your bed and you can play cards with us if you like," Kenny retorted.

Craig threw them a condescending look, "No thank you. I have better things to do than play silly card games". He then picked up a book and began reading it. "Besides if Nurse Beauxchet catches you two with the rails down and out of bed you'll be in for it".

"Don't care too much for Nurse Barf-it or her stupid rules," Roy replied just as Nurse Beauxchet entered the room. He groaned inside knowing she had heard that comment. She definitely heard it because it was apparent in the way she glared at him with her eyes entombed heavily with makeup. The slight 'glassy-crazy' look in her wide open eyes had a way of reminding you of a demented Betty Davis while the way she tilted her head back reminded you of Elsa Lancaster in the Bride of Frankenstein.

"Back to your bed," she motioned to Kenny, "Hand over the cards," she demanded of Roy holding out her taloned hand. Roy gave her a narrow eyed look as he put the deck into her outstretched hand. She put the rails up on both of their beds and announced, "Time for your baAAaattthh," emphasizing the word 'bath' by stretching it out. You couldn't help but feel the dread that poured over you like hot wax when the word 'baAAaattthh' came out of her mouth like a snake hissing.

She closed the curtain around Roy's bed and placed a basin of lukewarm water on his table. She then grabbed a bar of soap, wash cloth and towel from the nearby washroom. Roy squirmed to the top corner of the bed in an attempt to avoid the inevitable, "I'm old enough to wash myself you know". Roy glared at her as she stood looming over him with the soap and wash cloth clutched in her hands.

"Quit squirming! You will behave while I give you your sponge bath my little bright eyes," Nurse Beauxchet demanded. He hated it when she scrubbed his skin down to the last layer and wouldn't let him wash certain areas of his body. It wasn't like he was a baby bird who needed his mother to feed him worms, he thought as she pinned him down and proceeded to scour his skin. She could make the softest wash cloth feel like the coarsest grit of sandpaper in the way she gave you a sponge bath. She heard Kenny's twittering laugh in the next bed, "I'm sure you'll be laughing when it's your turn Charming Charlie and I'll be right with you after I'm finished with little Stevie Stunning".

Roy figured he had one layer of skin left after she completed 'sponging' him down. She harshly swept his curtain back and she moved onto her next victim, Kenny. He could hear Kenny's protests and the occasional yelp along with his typical "That's actually attached to me you know," comment.

One by one Nurse Beauxchet bathed each 'victim' in the room. When she was finished she turned and in her stiffly exaggerated movements walked out the room. Thankfully, nobody required any needle treatment from her today. Everyone believed she purposefully made it as painful as possible whenever she inserted a needle into someone. "Blood sucking witch," he muttered after she had exited the room in a manner that reminded you of a silent movie villain.

Kenny chirped in, "Yeah her and her dumb rules, schedules and baAAaattthh". They never missed a chance to mock or make fun of Nurse Barf-it behind her back. The boys of the Children's Ward detested her. They even came up with their own horror movie titles for her. Some of the better movie names were:

_The Evilroid Nurse Who Ate Little Sick Boys_

_Bodies Bearing Traces of Needle Damage_

_Terror of the Children's Ward_

_The Skinning of the Boys_

_Nurse Dementia and Her Needles of Pain_

"I sure wish Nurse Wilma was on during the day. Too bad she works nights at least she doesn't mind if I get out of bed as long as I don't leave the room," Kenny replied.

"Yeah, Nurse Wilma is pretty nice, not like that Nurse Hagatha. Boy, I'd like to bust her broom in half," Roy said as Kenny and him began to giggle over his comment. They continued talking about other things like sports and their friends at home. Pretty soon Roy began to feel tired and started to doze off on Kenny.

Kenny lay in bed reading a book his mother had brought him while Roy slept. His mother and Roy's had returned from lunch and Harriett left for the afternoon once she saw that Roy was fast asleep. It was going on three o'clock when Dr. Early popped in to check on Kenny. He was pretty excited to receive the official news that he was finally getting out of there.

Jim shook hands with Larry Whitley and welcomed him to the shop. He had just obtained an important contract with Nelson's Trucking and was definitely going to require a new mechanic. Jim would never even have considered hiring someone who was associated with Wes Mendalson but after their brief meeting in the hospital while Larry was visiting his son, Jim formed a good impression of the man. Larry seemed to know his stuff when it came to engines and he not only knew about trucks and cars but small planes as well. Jim wasn't sure if he was going to ever venture into working on small plane engines but at least he had someone who knew something about them.

Once he got Larry settled into the shop and had introduced him to his other mechanics and the foreman he went back to his office. He planned on leaving a little early today to visit Roy. He had stuffed some Hardy Boy novels, a deck of cards and some other stuff in a box he had left in the car for his son.

He wasn't sure who Roy planned on playing cards with since Larry happily told him this afternoon that Kenny was going home tomorrow. He told Larry to take the morning off to be with his family for Kenny's homecoming. He planned on paying Larry for the whole day; he learned earlier from Kenny during his last visit with Roy that Larry's old boss had refused to pay him the last few days he worked after he handed in his resignation.

At least Larry wasn't going to suffer from the fallout once the results from the investigation into the truck crash. Jim heard through the grapevine that it looked like Mendalson failed to make proper repairs on the vehicle which in turn caused the fatal accident. It was hatchet shops like Mendalson's that gave mechanics a bad name, Jim thought sourly as he finished his paperwork for the day.

Just as Jim was ready to leave, Norm his head mechanic rapped on the glass of his office door. Jim motioned for him to come in. "Hey Jim, can you come out to the floor for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure, lead the way," Jim replied as he followed Norm out of the office to the floor where the rest of his staff stood gathered. Jim looked a little puzzled and was wondering what was up. "Everything okay fellas? he asked hesitantly.

One of his mechanics Martin stepped forward with a red toolbox decorated with a bow, "We're just glad that our little gopher is doing better so we all got together and decided it was time to get him his own toolbox".

Jim was somewhat surprised and touched that the guys would all pitch in to get a gift. He knew Roy was going to be thrilled with having his own toolbox. He cleared his throat, "I'm sure Roy's gonna love this. I can't thank you fellas enough for showing your support towards Harriett and me this last while with everything that was going on with Roy". Jim accepted the toolbox that Martin handed over to him.

Jim turned to Norman who stood beside him, "I'm gonna need some help getting all this stuff loaded into the car". Norman grabbed the toolbox and Jim picked up the small box of stuff he had planned on bringing Roy afternoon. After Norman had helped him load everything into the car, Jim reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"Here, this is for Larry to help pay for some of his son's hospital expenses, make sure to give it to him before he leaves for the day. He won't be in tomorrow morning because he's finally taking his son home," Jim explained to his head mechanic as he handed him a hundred dollars in bills. He knew Norman had already taken up a collection with the other guys after he had explained to him about how he had met Larry and the circumstances surrounding his son being in the hospital.

Kenny was pretty excited about being able to finally go home tomorrow after spending the last few months in the hospital. Roy couldn't imagine spending such a long period of time here. The two boys discussed what their plans were for the duration of the summer. Roy was somewhat disappointed that the Grand Canyon trip was cancelled for the time being. His mother had her doubts she would be able to get an additional two weeks off from the bank during the summer because had already used up her vacation time already. Jim suggested that maybe the two of them could go but Roy was willing to wait until next summer so his mother could come as well.

Roy was anxiously awaiting a weekend fishing trip with Jim who agreed to let him take his best friend along. Kenny's family had no vacation plans for this summer but most likely he was going to be spending sometime visiting his grandparents in Nebraska. Kenny mentioned how much he enjoyed spending time with his grandparents.

Jim entered the Children's Ward and set the toolbox on the table in front of Roy. "Hey scamp, the guys at work thought you might like this".

Roy's eyes grew as big as saucers at the sight of the shiny new red toolbox in front of him. "Outta sight! My own toolbox!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Quick come here Kenny and check this out".

"Well hurry and open the box up," Kenny replied as he let Jim lift up onto the bed.

Both boys ogled the tools inside the box. Roy knew what most of the tools were because of hanging around the shop and liked the fact that Kenny knew what most of them were as well. Jim gave the boys a few more minutes to check out the toolbox before he pulled out a few get well cards for Roy.

"This card here is from the guys, and Cuddy and Jo-Jo also dropped off cards for you," Jim said as he handed the small stack over to Roy.

Roy and Kenny studied the card from Jim's employees and then Cuddy's card. They giggled over Cuddy's version of the itsy-bitsy spider rhyme that he had written on the inside of the card. He handed Cuddy's card over to Jim who raised his eyebrows over what was written on the inside.

"_Roy-al pain_…I kinda like that," Jim mused, "But you probably should hide this card from your mother".

Roy read the card from Jo-Jo and refused to let anybody else see it. Both Jim and Kenny began to tease Roy as the noticed a deep blush spread across his face. "This one I'm hiding from everybody," he said as he tucked it under his arm.

"Awww…come on Roy, I bet Jo-Jo wrote something very sweet in that card," Jim teased.

"You mean all this time I was convinced you hated girls. Show us the card Roy," Kenny added.

Roy crossed his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes, "She hopes I get well soon is what she wrote".

"Likely story," both Jim and Kenny said in unison.

Jim turned to Kenny, "Hey I just heard from one of my employee's that you're getting sprung from here tomorrow".

"You heard right. Hey, I didn't know my Dad knew someone that worked for you," Kenny said in a teasing tone.

"Turns out that he does," Jim said giving the boy a wink. He turned back to Roy, "Well I better head on home your Mom is waiting for me".

"Don't forget to thank the guys for the toolbox for me," Roy added as Jim stood up.

"How about I take that toolbox back to the house with me for the time being; I'm not too sure it's a good idea to leave it here," Jim said.

Kenny whispered to Roy, "He's really afraid that you're going to do a tune up on Hagatha Barf It's broom". Both boys giggled over the comment Kenny had just made.

"I'll see you tomorrow scamp," Jim said as he gave Roy's shoulders a slight squeeze.

"Can you bring me some my comic books tomorrow. I'm going to be bored silly after Kenny leaves," Roy asked.

"You betcha, see you tomorrow," Jim said as he exited the room.

Kenny and Roy continued to talk after Jim left before they were interrupted by Nurse Beauxchet. "You, back to your bed," she said to Kenny as she pointed one of her red claws towards the empty bed.

Once she ushered Kenny back to his bed she abruptly pulled the curtain half way around the bed so the boys could no longer see each other. "Don't let me catch you out of bed again or I'll be chaining you to it," she said in an exaggerated huff before leaving the room.

Roy prayed he would be getting out soon, he hated the though of having to fend of that nurse on his own. Roy pulled out the card from Jo-Jo that he tucked away and opened it again to read what she had written down.

_Wishing my favorite guy a speedy recovery_

_Get well soon and I miss the those blue eyes of yours_

_Love Jo-Jo_

_XOXOXO_

Roy groaned as he tucked the card back into its envelope. He was determined that NOBODY was ever going to see the get-well card Jo-Jo had given him. A smile crept across his face; he knew just the perfect spot for it when he got home.

Roy quickly changed into his clothes from behind the curtain. He was finally getting out of here and away from his daytime nemesis Nurse Barf-it. It had almost been a week since Kenny had been released and a much younger boy occupied his bed a few days later. It wasn't that he didn't like his new roommate it was just the age difference between the two boys that made it hard for Roy to find something in common.

Roy picked out several of his comic books to leave for the younger boy in the next bed before he left. He hoped that Darrin didn't have to stay here much longer before he was finally allowed to go home. He remembered how frightened five year old little Darrin was the first couple of nights his parents left him alone here by himself. He had gone over to reassure the boy that things weren't that bad here at night and that he would be fine. Nurse Wilma, the night nurse also had a way of calming Darrin's fears those first few nights.

Roy also spent time telling Darrin about his friends and reading some of his comics to him. It was a way for him to combat his boredom since Kenny's departure and it seemed to help keep Darrin preoccupied when his parents weren't there. Even though Darrin hadn't learned to read yet Roy was pretty sure Nurse Wilma would take a little time from her busy schedule to read them to Darrin at night.

Roy pulled his curtain back and waited patiently for his parents to pick him up. He still had bouts where he felt tired and a little achy. Dr. Wilkins had warned him and his parents that he would have to take it easy and not overdue it for the next couple of weeks. It was normal for him to feel tired about an hour after lunch and the doctor mentioned that the tired spells should disappear soon.

Harriett and Jim entered the Children's Ward to find Roy impatiently waiting to be taken home. Before leaving Roy went over to Darrin's bed and gave him the comic books. Darrin wasn't too happy that Roy was going home and the older boy reassured him that he would be going home soon as well. When Darrin wanted to give Roy a hug good-bye, the older boy complied even though he thought it was a little on the 'unmanly' side.

Upon arriving at home Roy went to his bedroom and put away his things. He placed Jo-Jo's card in a spot that nobody would dare look before he went downstairs to the living room listening to the radio with his parents. After lunch Roy sat in the living room while Harriet and Jim played a game of Cribbage at the kitchen table. Roy was beginning to doze off on the couch when somebody knocked on the front door. Roy yelled out that he would get it as he got up to open the door.

"Oh…it's you," Roy said sounding somewhat disappointed and then felt a wave of guilt at the hurt look Jo-Jo threw his way. "Would you like to come in and play some Monopoly," he said in a much sweeter voice.

Jo-Jo's face lighted up a bit, "Sure…unless you really don't want me to?"

"Come on…won't you to come in," Roy said in a much politer manner. Jo-Jo hesitated before she walked in. Roy went to the hall closet and pulled the game out. They set the game down on the coffee table and quickly began setting it up. After playing the game for an hour both noticed that the other seemed distracted. Roy was fighting the urge to fall asleep and Jo-Jo had something else on her mind.

"Ummm….Roy…", Jo-Jo said hesitantly.

"What is it Jo?"

"Do you…do you…I mean I hope you don't…"

"Don't what?"

Jo-Jo squirmed a little, "You don't plan on telling anybody what I wrote in that get well card I gave you?"

"Who would I tell?"

"Cuddy".

"I haven't seen Cuddy yet; and no I wasn't planning on telling him about your card."

"Ummm…good…good".

Roy narrowed his eyes at Jo-Jo, "You're afraid he's gonna tease you if I tell him". Roy noted the fearful look on her face. That's exactly what she's afraid of, he thought. He had not intention of telling anybody about her card. Impulsively Roy leaned in and planted a very quicksilver of a kiss on her lips taking Jo-Jo by surprise.

"What did you do that for you little weasel," a shocked Jo-Jo exclaimed.

"Because Cuddy will tease me more if he ever found out I kissed you," Roy replied back and added in an indifferent tone, "Just don't go thinking I like you because of it either".

Unbeknownst to the two children, Jim and Harriett had witnessed the interaction between the two from the kitchen table. They had a clear view into the living room from where they we sitting. They struggled not to laugh at the exchange.

Jim lean over towards Harriett and whispered, "What did I tell you, Harriett, those two are sweet on each other".

"Well I think it's cute".

"I wouldn't be surprised if that girl became our future daughter-in-law one day".

"Jim, a lot of things can happen between now and then; although, I do pity the thought of Roy having Eunice Johnston as a mother-in-law". They both nodded their head in agreement over that point.

They continued on with their Cribbage game while the children entertained themselves in the living room. Jo-Jo and Roy decided they would rather listen to a radio show instead of playing their board game. Roy and Jo-Jo put the game away and Roy turned on the show while the two of them flipped through some comic books together.

Roy could feel the urge to sleep quickly envelop him and before Jo-Jo knew it she felt the weight of his head on his shoulder. She looked down at the mop of reddish blonde hair that now rested on her shoulder. She decided to let Roy's head remain there on her shoulder as she picked up another comic and began to read through it.

Harriett nudged Jim and pointed to the living room. She quietly got up and went to the hall closet and got out her Brownie 127 camera. She quietly walked in front of the two children with the camera. Jo-Jo was too absorbed in reading to notice her. It wasn't until the click from the camera did Jo-Jo look up at Roy's mother.

"Please don't show that picture to anyone Mrs. Finley," Jo-Jo said in a pleading whisper. "Don't worry I won't," Harriett whispered and smiled at the young girl before she tip toed away. Once she developed the picture she planned on giving it to Jo-Jo if the she wanted it. Either way she thought it was a nice picture of the two of them and one of the few where they weren't making faces at each other.

Cuddy walked up front steps of the Finley house slowly and peered in the living room window. Roy was still fast asleep and his head was on Jo-Jo's shoulder. He quietly knocked on the front door which was enough to wake Roy up. He wiped the sleep from his tired eyes as Jim let the other boy in. Cuddy had a rhubarb pie from Mrs. Porter in his hand.

"Mrs. Porter wanted me to give this to you," Cuddy said as he handed the pie over to Jim.

Mrs. Porter was an elderly widow who lived a few house down the street from them. It was common for Roy and Cuddy to miraculously appear at her house whenever she needed yard work done. The two boys would cut her grass and do her trimming for her. Normally they would also stop by Thursday night and take her garbage cans to the curb. The two boys refused to accept money from her for helping her out so her form of payment was in pies. It was shortly after Roy first moved into the neighborhood with his mother was when Cuddy and him began to do Mrs. Porter's yard work.

One day Roy followed Jim as he took his reel mower and clippers down the street. Jim stopped in front of Mrs. Porter's house and began to mow her lawn. Roy had asked him why he was mowing her lawn and Jim replied that it was a neighborly thing to do. Besides it was hard work and he didn't like the idea of Mrs. Porter struggling with a mower. Jim had been taking care of Mrs. Porter's yard for years.

Roy didn't remember much at that time about what it was like living in a house and having other neighbors around. Apartment neighbors didn't have yards and a lot of them didn't seem to have children either. Most of Roy's neighbors at the small apartment building were either older couples or young single people. There was only one young couple with a small baby but really there was nobody around that was Roy's age to play with there. It was like a whole different world for him when he moved into Jim's house with his mother.

Wanting to be a good neighbor like Jim, Roy began to help him with Mrs. Porter's yard. Once he became best friends with Cuddy the two boys took over the yard work. They actually didn't mind doing the work and sometimes Mrs. Porter's son would stop by while they were there to check up on his mother. Her son happened to be a fireman and the two boys were fascinated with some of the tales he told about his job. Often times the boys would spend an afternoon at the Porter house listening to his stories. Cuddy and Roy had made up their minds that they were going to become firemen when they grew up just like Fireman Porter.

Cuddy flopped down on the couch beside Roy and immediately began to tease him over the scene he had witnessed from the front porch. "So Roy when are you and Jo-Jo going to have a litter of puppies?"

"Awww, Go blow your jets!" Roy answered sharply.

"Who in their right minds would ever want to have goblin-faced goobers that look like him," Jo Jo also retorted while pointing a thumb towards Roy.

"Yeah, I suppose your right. Different species aren't supposed to have babies together anyways," Cuddy replied.

Their was a little more ribbing amongst the three before the conversation switched to other important topics like what their summer plans were before the next school year began. Cuddy and Jo-Jo were disappointed when they learned Roy wouldn't be going to the Grand Canyon this year. Jim had promised a weekend camping trip as soon as Roy was up to it to compensate for the missed family vacation.

Roy hummed happily to himself as he packed some clothes into a suitcase. He made sure he had packed several pairs of shorts and short sleeved shirts and a couple of pairs of jeans and some longer sleeved shirts and sweater. He made sure his swimsuit was packed.

Harriett called up to him from downstairs, "Make sure you pack plenty of clean underwear and your pajamas".

"Yes Mom," he yelled back and quickly went to his dresser to pull out several pairs of clean underwear and some socks. He had already had packed his pajamas. He went through his check list of items twice before he finally closed the suitcase and brought it downstairs for Jim to put in back their Chevrolet Woodie.

He excitedly peppered Jim with questions about the fishing trip they were leaving for the next day. Jim had agreed to also let Roy invite Kenny along. Kenny and his family were due to arrive soon for supper. The two boys would be spending the night together in Roy's room before heading out in the morning for their trip. Jim was planning on going to bed early because he was going to need all the rest he could get before taking three rambunctious boys on a weekend trip.

Jim had packed the fishing gear, tent and sleeping bags in the Woodie already and he was now trying to secure his small fishing boat on top of the vehicle. The Whitley's car pulled up and the three kids quickly exited the car. Larry walked over to see if Jim needed help with the boat while Harriett greeted Kaye and her three children at the front door.

There were four TV trays set up in the living room for the children to eat off of while the adults ate at the kitchen table. The Whitley children were pretty well behaved but Kenny was definitely the one who was the 'entertainer' of the three. He had all of them in stitches with his impersonations of their favorite cartoon characters and impressions of famous people. There were a few impersonations he was off on and needed to polish but he certainly could do a good rendition on most of them. Woody Woodpecker was everyone's favorite and of course the loudest and most annoying one he could do. After the sixth time Kenny performed it his father came in from the kitchen and requested that Kenny not do that particular one anymore.

Once the children had finished eating they brought their dirty dishes to the kitchen. Roy helped wiped off the TV trays before folding them up and putting them away. The adults stayed in the kitchen while the children played in the living room; Kaye and Harriett were doing the dishes and Larry and Jim were engrossed in a conversation.

Jim was very pleased with how Larry was fitting in at the shop. Larry had to admit himself that it took a couple of weeks for him to adjust to the place. Larry wasn't used to working for someone who was willing to garner input to his employees. The first time Martin made a suggestion to Jim about how to approach a custom job they were working on he was floored when Jim agreed with Martin's way of performing the work when Jim had initially stated he wanted it done a different way.

When Larry had asked Martin about the exchange between him and the boss, Martin explained that Jim certainly knew his stuff and most people would have performed things his way but if somebody had a suggestion Jim is always willing to hear them out. If Jim had felt his suggestion was wrong he would have told him so along with giving him reasons why it was wrong. If any of the guys around the shop had a better way of doing something Jim would give them the green light to do their way.

After the Whitley's had left, Roy brought Kenny over to Cuddy's house to introduce them. Cuddy thought it was so cool when Kenny began doing some of his impressions. The three boys immediately took off up the street to the confectionary store to check ice-cream flavors and get to know each other.

Cuddy and Kenny teased Roy about how he ate his ice cream. Roy tended to get too busy talking and he not notice that his ice cream was beginning to melt and run in sticky rivulets down his forearm. He would then lick the running ice cream from his forearm. The three boys had finished their treat by the time they got back home.

Harriett insisted that the boys all turn in early because Jim planned on leaving at the 'crack of dawn' as she put it. Roy had a sleeping bag set out on the floor of his bedroom for Kenny and was in the process of unzipping it when Kenny piped up, "I wanna sleep in the sleeping bag".

"Sure, if you want…Mom just told me that my 'guest' should get the bed," Roy slowly replied back.

"Company gets first choice that's what my Mom always says," Kenny winked back as he crawled into the sleeping bag and Roy crawled into his bed.

When Harriett came in to make sure the boy's were settling in she noted that Kenny was on the floor. "Kenny didn't want the bed, Mom," Roy quickly explained.

"Yeah, Mrs. Finley I wanted the sleeping bag," Kenny piped up.

Harriett leaned in to give Roy a hug but choose to fore go giving him a kiss in front of his friend. She then bent down and gave Kenny a hug before turning the light off as she left the room. Harriett returned to the bedroom an hour later to tell the boys to quiet down and go to sleep. Knowing they had a big day ahead of them, the excited boys decided to try and fall asleep. It took a while but eventually both boys managed to drift off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Messages From The Heart**

**The Delirium Threemen**

**Don't own the copyright to any of the characters depicted in Emergency they are the property of Universal Studios/****Mark VII Productions****. Content from the show is the property of the original creators. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All original characters and story content is the sole property of The Delirium Threemen and may not be used without permission.**

**Chapter 6**

Harriett and Jim had to rouse Kenny and Roy a few times in early hours the next morning before the half-asleep boys finally got up and dressed. They had all agreed the night before that they would stop for breakfast at a roadside diner along the way. The boys trudged tiredly out the house into the darkness of early morning and crawled into the Woodie station wagon where they promptly fell back asleep. Several minutes later Cuddy walked over from his house in a semi-sleeping state escorted by his mother. He now joined the other two boys in the back seat slumping onto Kenny before falling back asleep like the other two occupants.

Once the remaining sleeping bag and pillows were packed, Jim and Harriett exchanged good-bye kisses before he climbed into the Woodie. Jim could hear Jackie Gleason's voice '_And Awa-a-a-y we go!_' echoing in his head as he started the engine and headed down the road. He glanced in the rear-view mirror at the three sleeping boys. It amazed him how angelic the sleeping boys looked stacked up against one another. Roy was lying against the door; Kenny was lying against Roy and Cuddy against Kenny.

Having reached the outskirts of the city Jim turned the radio on. The sun was just beginning to peak out over the horizon. Jim enjoyed himself as he drove along the open highway with the music drifting to his ears from the radio. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the song on the radio. For the next hour he enjoyed the tranquility of the drive while the three boys slept in the back seat.

It wasn't long before all three boys woke up and from the looks of things they seemed fully energized. They were already beginning to tease each other. "Well look whose up, Huey, Dewey and Louie," Jim said as the three boys straightened their crooked ball caps on their heads. Jim immediately regretted his cartoon reference towards the boys because that was invitation enough for Kenny to begin imitating Donald Duck's three nephews.

It was less than a minute later when Jim heard the question all parents dread hearing on a long trip, "Are we there yet?"

Jim quickly glanced in the review mirror the three very wide-eyed boys who now sported devilishly excited smiles, "No, we have a few more hours of traveling until we get there".

"I gotta go Mr. Finley," Cuddy said.

"Can you hold it until we find a diner and whoever is gonna say 'I'm hungry' can keep a look out for one," Jim grumbled. Boy! Larry wasn't kidding about how crazy kids can drive you on a long trip; he thought as he remembering the pointers the man gave to him about long drives with kids last night over supper. They only woke up a few minutes ago and were all ready in full gear nonsense mode.

"Yes sir," someone said quietly from the back seat.

It was almost fifteen minutes later when Cuddy piped up, "There's a sign for one just up ahead", pointing his finger in Jim's face from the back seat.

"Sit back in the seat Chris, I see it".

"Do you think you could step on it Mr. Finley. I really gotta go".

"Yeah his back teeth are floating," Roy said in a smart-alecky tone. Cuddy gave Roy a dirty look while Kenny smirked.

"We're almost there; hang on for a couple more minutes, Chris".

Finally Jim pulled into the parking lot of the Road Kill Diner. Roy and Kenny laughed at the name of the place while Cuddy quickly opened the door of the wagon and dashed inside before the rest of them had time to exit out of the wagon. They entered the diner where Jim found a table for four while Kenny and Roy joined Cuddy in the line for the bathroom. They snickered and teased Cuddy about doing the 'pee-pee dance' while they had to wait.

Jim sat patiently at the table for the three boys to return from the washroom. A friendly plump waitress served him up a cup of coffee and told him she'd be back in a second with some menus. The boys returned just as the waitress did. She smiled down at the three boys and asked what they wanted to drink. "Two milks and one orange juice coming up", she replied as she left them to look over the menu.

After the four of them had finished their breakfast, Jim insisted that they all use the bathroom again before heading back out on the road. The three boys protested that they just went earlier. Jim held firm, "There's no way I'm stopping in half an hour because someone has to go". The three boys headed towards the restroom knowing it wouldn't do any good continuing to argue about it. Now that everyone was fed and 'relieved' they continued driving on Highway 99 towards the Sequoia National Forest.

It wasn't more than ten minutes later when the boys began more of their tomfoolery. Now they were having a burping contest in the back seat. They would swallow some air and then bring it back up in a rumbling belch. "Enough of that!" Jim admonished the boys over their annoying behavior. Jim looked at the stretch of road ahead of him and muttered, "Lord, give me the strength not to leave the three of them on the side of the road".

After a few moments of quiet the boys decided to start singing the _Kookaburra Song_:

_Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree_

_Merry, merry king of the bush is he_

_Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!_

_Gay your life must be_

_Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree_

_Eating all the gum drops he can see_

_Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!_

_Leave some there for me_

_Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree_

_Counting all the monkeys he can see_

_Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!_

_That's not a monkey that's me_

_Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail_

_Gets a boo-boo in his tail_

_Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, kookaburra!_

_Oh how life can be_

Well the song was unquestionably an improvement over the other claptrap they were 'performing' earlier. Jim had to admit it was a somewhat cute and catchy song. The song wasn't something that would cause Harriett to give them her 'angry' look and the boys were enjoying themselves without being nuisances. However, that was soon to be short lived; the boys had become bored again after only singing a couple of songs and began some of their more annoying antics again.

"Look for the Porterville exit boys. It won't be much longer to the campsite from their," Jim called out to the three boys in the back seat who were now amusing themselves by doing 'arm farts'. "And you can stop that nonsense," he added. What did I get myself into, he thought as he continued on down the highway?

As soon as the exit sign appeared the boys YELLED out that the Porterville exit was just ahead. Jim took the exit and headed up Highway 190 towards Springville. His next turn was Co Hwy J37 which would take them to almost to the campsite area.

* * *

Jim pulled into the campsite and before he could put the Woodie into park the three rambunctious passengers in the back seat jumped out and scurried off. The three boys raced over to the dock and checked out the lake giving Jim the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief. He decided to let them run around for a little bit to work off their pent up energy. After ten minutes of resting and watching them run around he got up and began to take down the aluminum boat from the top of the wagon.

Once he set the small boat on the ground he looked over at the boys who were unsuccessfully trying to skip rocks across the smooth surface of the lake. Jim smiled to himself and headed over to them. He shrugged to himself; well someone needs to teach them 'basic boy skills'. Just as Cuddy was about to throw his rock into the water Jim gently grabbed his arm, "That's not the way to skip stones. Here, let me show you how it's done".

He removed the rock from Cuddy's hand and began to explain to all three boys how to skip a stone. "First, flat rocks are better to use, round ones don't skip as well. Then you hold it like this and then throw it". The three boys watched as the rock skipped several times across the water. Jim found three flat rocks and handed one to each boy.

Cuddy skipped his rock on his first try but Roy and Kenny needed another run through on the technique. Jim went though his instruction a second time and after a few more throws all three boys proudly began comparing their stone skipping capabilities. Jim smiled to himself as he headed back to the Woodie and removed the tent and its accessories. He called the boys over to help him set up the tent. An hour later the tent was finally up and the three boys were crawling in and out of it. "Just be careful not to knock down any poles," Jim said while thinking 'if you do you're putting it back up without my help'.

Jim showed the boys how to store the food as to not attract any bears that could be in the area. "Always put your food away after your finished eating. When we're away from the campsite during the day we'll put the cooler in the wagon and at night when we're sleeping," Jim explained. "Don't leave any food lying around and we'll store any garbage in the wagon or at a designated dump site in the park. Please make sure to properly keep THAT bag closed or the trip back home will be pretty unpleasant".

Jim also went over the rule about not wandering too far away from the campsite and to stay within view of the tent. The he made the boys repeat what he had just told them before allowing them to change into their swimsuits. Jim continued setting up the campsite and he strung up a line for their wet towels and swimsuits. He carried the sleeping bags and pillows to the tent. Once Jim finished he sat down on the picnic table and watched the boys from a distance. They were splashing around in the lake and every once in a while one would scramble out of the water climb onto the small dock to cannonball back into the lake.

* * *

The boys were finishing up their plates of pork and beans talking about taking the boat out fishing the next day. After listening to the '_Beans Song_' for the third time he vowed never to pack beans ever again if there was ever another camping trip in the future; but first he'd have to survive this trip. Jim pulled out some bread and jam to make hobo pies for desert. Each boy wanted to make their own pie. He handed the hobo pie toaster over to them and watched each one take their turn. He made one for himself when they were finished.

After supper the boys helped clean up the campsite before the four of them sat around the fire. Kenny began telling a scary story to his two companions. Each boy took his turn telling a scary story before Jim finally put out the fire and ushered them to bed. Once he had completed a check of the campsite he crawled into the tent to join the three boys. He knew it was going to take some time for the three boys to settle down before finally falling asleep.

Jim was then reminded of another reason not to feed boys beans when the tooting began. A couple of little 'eeps' from one boy, a louder 'buuurreep' from another followed by some girlish twittering laughter; Jim wondered how long this was going to last. Then he felt the vibration from the loud 'baaarrrooompth' from the small bony butt that was pressed up against his leg. Slowly the sulfur smell found its way to his nose.

"Geeeeeez Willikers Roy, you do that again and I'm gonna stuff you in that sleeping bag and seal it closed," Jim exclaimed.

A giggly muffled voice answered, "Sorry dad". The other two tent occupants began twittering again. Jim grumbled and rolled over so he wouldn't be facing the three gassy boys. He wondered if he would be alive in the morning with all that methane gas being generated by them inside the enclosed tent.

* * *

The next day they spent the morning fishing on the lake and Jim couldn't help but beam over how catching even the smallest fish seemed like a 'whopper' to the boys. The three were amazingly quiet while fishing because they were warned it would scare the fish away. They weren't too squeamish about baiting their lines, in fact they thought it was rather fun. Jim had to help them out a couple of times to keep their lines from getting tangled up.

When they had finished fishing they jumped into the wagon and headed to Porterville to replenish the ice in the cooler and pick up some other small supplies. Jim slipped a package of marshmallows in for the campfire that night. Once they got back to the campsite they cooked some hotdogs over the campfire for lunch. The boys quickly cleaned up afterwards before changing into their swimming trunks and dashing off for a swim in the lake. Jim wasn't surprised he when he found himself left alone to clean their small bounty of fish they planned on cooking for supper. He could teach them the cleaning part of fishing another time, he supposed.

Once the fish were cleaned and packed on ice, Jim sat on the picnic table and watched the three boys who were frolicking in the water. Roy definitely was a little trout when it came to swimming. Cuddy and Kenny floundered a little more in the water than he did. A smile crept across his face as he watched the happy abandonment the three displayed as they splashed around in the cool lake. Typical boys doing typical boy things; driving you crazy one minute and making you laugh the next.

Definitely he could see Roy and Cuddy being best friends well into adulthood or even life long. There was that special type of connection between the two of them. Their current desire was to become firemen like Mrs. Porter's son. Next week they might want to be policemen. Perhaps they would both go into opposite directions career wise but never friend wise. These two were the stick through thick and thin type friends. They would always be there for each other in one form or another.

He looked at Kenny who was the boy that was everyone's friend. The one who enjoyed making others laugh or feel better through his humor. He wasn't a complainer and rolled with the punches. A boy that tended to find wit as a way to handle the bumps that came along his road in life. Yes he mused; he certainly wouldn't be surprised to see Kenny growing up to be a comedian or something within the entertainment industry. He saw how Kenny used his younger brother and sister as his audience when they over for supper the night before they left on their trip. Jim continued to let his thoughts ponder on the three boys imagining the types of young men they might grow into.

The boys were splashing around in the water without a care in the world. Jim wiped the sweat that trickled down the side of his head and then got up from the picnic table. It definitely was a hot day and he envied the boys in the water. What the heck, I'm entitled to have a little fun as well, he rationalized. He headed toward the tent and ducked inside. After a few moments Jim emerged from the tent in his own swimming trunks and towel in hand. Harriett bought him some new trunks insisting he pack them even though he adamantly told her that he had no intention of going swimming in an icy lake. He was kind of glad that he listened to her as he broke out into a run towards the dock, dropping his towel carelessly beside the other ones.

"Clear the deck boys, I'm coming in for a landing", Jim yelled as he did a cannonball into the water sending a giant wave cascading down over the three stunned boys. "Oh dear mother in heaven this water is cold!" he gasped as he broke the surface.

"Attack!" Kenny yelled out as all three of them swam towards Jim and began splashing more frigid lake water at him.

Jim grabbed up Cuddy who was the closest in the water to him and playfully tossed him away from him with a big splash. Laughing, each boy took turns swimming up to Jim in order for him to 'catch' them and toss them back into the water, splashing and giggling like mad. When they seemed to grow a bit bored with it, Jim started the 'Ticklefish' game, which was a game Jim had invented. It was a form of water tag, but instead of tagging the person to be 'it', you tickled them and they then became the 'Ticklefish' and had to chase the others around in the water in order to try and make them the 'Ticklefish'.

* * *

Jim had to admit the drive home was somewhat quieter than the drive up. The boys did occasionally get into their usually antics of teasing, made up road games and sometimes a song or two but they were a little more subdued on the way home. He also noticed that there were moments during the trip home when one of them would look like they were going to nod off to sleep. Apparently all the activity from their camping trip had tuckered them out a bit. Jim also felt a little worn and was planning on taking a nap once he had dropped off Kenny and unpacked everything from the Woodie once they all were home.

It was early in the afternoon when he pulled into the Whitley's driveway. He stayed long enough to unpack Kenny's things and have a quick cup of coffee with Larry and a little chit-chat before heading home. Once they arrived at their house Harriett came out to greet them and help unpack.

After putting his camping stuff away, Roy had gotten his 'second wind' and began bombarding his mother with tales from their trip. Jim had inconspicuously disappeared leaving Harriett in the living room with her son talking her ear off. Neither one had noticed Jim's absence until Roy had finished his tales about the camping trip.

Harriett smiled at her son, "Well it sure seems like you had a great time but it looks like you tuckered your Dad out". She figured Jim had slipped upstairs to get a couple of hours of rest before supper time.

Roy brought his dirty clothes to the laundry room and took his remaining unworn clean clothes from the trip upstairs to his bedroom to put away. He didn't notice the envelope on his pillow until he set his clothes on the bed. It was just a plain envelope with his name written on it. He put his clothes away first before jumping up onto his bed and leaning his back up against the headboard. He opened the envelope and took out a letter that was written in a neat masculine hand.

_Dear Son,_

_I wondered today why there is no Son's Day on the calendar on the drive home. It finally came to me that Son's Day is everyday in my life since you came into it. Before you came along I never thought of myself as a father figure before. To be honest it wasn't until I met your mother that the thought of being married crossed my mind._

_When the two of us first met neither one of us was really sure about the other and over time that changed. You needed time to get to know me and I knew I had to be patient in order for that to happen. We sure seem to fit into each others lives rather nicely now. I am honored that you think of me as your Dad. It's a huge responsibility being an influential factor in helping you mold yourself into the man you will become in the future. I happily share this duty with your mother. Love, honor, and responsibility are traits you will look for in others and these are the traits we want to pass onto you as our son._

_At certain times in your life you may find you need advice or counsel and your mother and I will always be available for that. There will be moments in your life coming up where you are going to need a Father's ear more than a Mother's ear. There will be changes ahead as you grow up and some of them will be wonderful, others will not but that is how life works. Sometimes the bad things are meant to teach you how to appreciate the good things._

_Never be afraid or embarrassed to come to us over any troubles you may experience in life. Whether you are facing thunderstorms or the skies are clear and sunny remember that both of us will always love, care and support you. Certainly there will be moments when we don't see eye-to-eye but always remember we will be there for you_

_Do what feels right for yourself and not what others feel is right for you. Never feel obligated to do what everyone else is doing, always feel free to do your own thing. Things are not handed out to you in life but they are earned. Yeah, I'm filled with corny stuff and sayings and you'll probably pick up on some of that; its part of my job to teach you the corny stuff too._

_Try to live each day well and in a manner that allows you to sleep at night without tossing and turning over the guilt of unkindness or wrongdoings. I very much look forward to sharing and doing things together with you as a boy now and as a man that you will soon enough grow into._

_Always in my heart and thoughts,_

_Love_

_Dad_

Roy felt a lump form in his throat as he finished reading the letter. He knew parts of the letter he wouldn't fully understand until he was older but the one message that rang loud and clear was he had a real Dad in his life. He read the letter a second time and a smile spread across his face and then with great care he folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope.

Getting up from his bed, he knelt down beside it and fished out his old PF Flyers shoe box from underneath. He placed the box on the bed and removed the lid. Inside the box was where Roy kept all his little treasures; some photos of his Mom holding him as a baby and as a young toddler, a book of matches from the hotel they stayed at after his Mom and Jim got married. Sitting on top of the stack of pictures and the other bobbles he had collected so far from his boyhood was the get-well card that Jo-Jo had given him. He carefully placed Jim's letter on top of it and put the lid back on the shoe box.

After he putting his 'treasure' box back under his bed, he quietly poked his head out of his bedroom door. He could hear the loud whirling 'vaarrooom' of the vacuum cleaner his mother using down stairs. The sound of Jim's 'bulldozer'-like snoring was coming from his parent's bedroom. He walked quietly to the door that was half open and peeked inside and saw that Jim was laying spread out in the middle of the bed on his back.

Roy gently tapped on the door which caused Jim to crack open one eye. "Hey there," he said to Roy.

Roy squirmed uncomfortably for a second before responding, "Just wanted to thank you for taking me and my friends camping…and…for the letter".

Jim motioned with his arm for Roy to enter the bedroom. Once Roy had entered and was motioned to sit down on the bed. "You know I had a pretty good time on that trip with the three of you," Jim told him.

"Think we can go on another trip like that before the end of summer," Roy teased.

"How about once every summer, I could hardly keep up with you three boys. One trip a summer is probably the best I can handle, I'm afraid".

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two before Jim finally broke it. "Care to lie down beside your tired old man…that's if you don't think you're too old". Roy smiled and snuggled in beside his Dad.

"So how does Mom sleep with that racket you make," Roy playfully inquired.

"She usually gives me a good shake and I stop the racket. You wanna know what she does in her sleep".

"Don't tell me Mom snores too".

Nope, but she does this 'cricket' thing with her feet while she's sleeping. In fact somebody else that lives under this roof does the same thing in his sleep".

"What thing?" Roy inquired.

"Both you and your mother rub your feet together when your sleeping, like a cricket does with its legs".

They both continued to tease each other for a little while longer before they eventually drifted off to sleep. Harriett poked her head into her bedroom and saw her husband and son nestled together on the bed. Jim had one of his burly arms draped around Roy's shoulder and Roy had his head resting on Jim's broad chest. She didn't have the heart to wake them up at the moment. She noted the hem of Roy's pants seemed a little too high. She'd would to measure him tomorrow but it sure looked like he might have grown an inch or two since the beginning of summer. She quietly made her way back downstairs thinking it might be best if they just went to Rollie's Diner for supper once the 'men' of the house woke up.

**Authors Note:**

**One reviewer's penname reminded me of the Kookaburra Song so just by popping in and leaving a review you have added to the story. Thanks :-)****. I wasn't going to include the words of the song but decided to leave them in the story for those who remember the song as a child but can't remember the words (like me).**

**The following information about the song was obtained from the ALLdownunder website:**

**The song was written by Marion Sinclair in 1932. The Kookaburra Song won an 'Australian round' song contest held by the Victorian Guides. The song was introduced by Marion Sinclair at the World Jamboree in Frankstone, Victoria in 1934**.**and since then has become a favorite children's song around the world.**

**Here is an alternative verse to the song as well.**

_**Kookaburra sits on the electric wire,**_

_**Jumping up and down, with his pants on fire.**_

_**Ouch, Kookaburra, ouch! Kookaburra,**_

_**Hot your tail must be!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Epilogue – The Return of Nurse Barf-It**

**The Delirium Threemen**

**Don't own the copyright to any of the characters depicted in Emergency they are the property of Universal Studios/****Mark VII Productions****. Content from the show is the property of the original creators. No copyright infringement intended.**

**All original characters and story content is the sole property of The Delirium Threemen and may not be used without permission.**

**A bit of original dialog from The Nuisance episode is included which will be indicated in bold. No copyright infringement intended on using this dialog in the story. There will be a rehash of the scene. Italicized text will represent the thoughts Roy and Marco could have been thinking while that hideous soap opera played on the television.**

The dreadful organ music filled the room accompanied by the overly dramatic female voice from the television, "**I had the weirdest dream last night".**

Roy sat in the hospital bed with the television palming the remote in his hand thinking, _I can't believe Joanne actually watches this garbage_. _ I can't even begin to fathom why Johnny was so enthralled over this crud when I visited him the other day. _

In the other bed, Marco had one arm behind his head and one leg bent upward at the knee. _Can't you find anything better than this Roy? Find something else to watch or toss the remote over to me. The Emergency Broadcast System Test would be much more exciting than this_.

Roy shifted his arms and slightly moved his legs to get more comfortable. _Geeesh, now she's walking around in a strange pink and black tile house. I wonder if the decorator of that house is related to the fashion designer who made Johnny's patchwork quilt pants. _

_Uuuggghhh. I bet any party she throws WOULD be boring as hell._ Marco stared stoically at the screen. _You know this actually would be more interesting if she was walking around naked in the pink and black tile house. NOW that might add some life to the party._

_This junk makes me want to squeal with delight the next time Joanne hands me a honey-do-list on my day off. I'm sure glad there's a box of tissues on my table because this is so freaking bad I actually want to cry_, Roy thought as he glanced over at Marco for a moment noting the lackluster expression on his roommate's face. _She wonders why her friends are ignoring her. I'd run in the other direction myself if I had to listen to her woe-is-me crap._ He tapped his finger lightly on the remote a few times.

Marco crossed his arms and repositioned himself in his bed. He glared at the woman on the television who was reclining on the couch surrounded by wads of used Kleenex. _Dumb dame doesn't recognize her own house and she wonders why she's being ignored. Lady, you probably bore your friends to death._

_No please don't go on._ A look of disgust danced across Roy's face. _I wish that stupid doctor wouldn't encourage her to letting her indulge in her little pity party. I hope he's charging her an additional fee for our pain and suffering as well as his._

Marco kept staring with disgust at the television. _What do I think it means…I think it means she's disappointed that she was the last one picked at the key party going on at the pink and black tile house._

_Get me an emesis basin fast...I'm going to up-chuck. This is so unbelievably bad it's painful._ Roy sat wishing this torturous soap opera would end soon.

"**I think you're supposed to tell me what it means doctor"**, said the deep husky feminine voice from the television. Marco couldn't help but notice how forward she was towards the doctor. _Now she's putting the moves on the doctor. Maybe Johnny could learn some tips for picking up dates from this chick. How much more obvious can she be?_

The loud sound of the dramatic and irritating organ music indicated the end of the show with the closing scene of the doctor gently grasped the woman's hand into his in an almost loving-like gesture. _Hey you can't end the show there. It's not fair to keep everyone waiting until tomorrow to find out if the she gets it on with the doctor,_ both men thought simultaneously.

The door to their hospital room suddenly burst open as Johnny and his wheelchair rolled into the room. Both men immediately forgot their disappointment at being left hanging by the soap opera that had just finished. "**Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentleman**", Johnny greeted them.

Johnny continued to welcome his fellow fire fighters to their temporary lodgings at Rampart with some buoyant and playful banter while he leaned back into the wheelchair and balanced himself on the two large back wheels of the chair. Not only was he only riding on the back wheel but he also managed to rotate in circle at the same time. _You're going to put your self back into ICU, Junior if you don't quite twirling around in that thing like a ballerina_, Roy thought fearing that his partner was going to flip backwards in the teetering wheelchair at any moment. _Oh well, at least he's much more entertaining than that soap opera._

Roy felt a wave of disappointment when Johnny informed them that Brice escaped without so much as a scratch from the cave in at the abandoned processing plant. A part of him knew it was wrong to wish harm to befall a fellow fire fighter but a good bang on Mr. Rule Book's head would have at least felt like the **Big Fireman in the Sky** had a sense of justice.

Then Johnny mentioned to him and Marco that Brice's new partner was 'The Animal'. Roy felt a bubble of delight burst inside of him just imagining the two of them working together. Now Brice was going to get a taste of what it was like to be driven insane by your partner. _Oh yeah, the Big Fireman in the Sky sure knows how to dish out justice. _The three men couldn't hide the glee in their eyes over the thought of the world's perfect paramedic being teamed up with the biggest slob in the department. Marco was right on the mark about Bellingham and Brice driving each other bananas.

Suddenly the door of the room swung open hitting the back of Johnny's wheel chair. "**Gage your AWOL…tsk tsk tsk… ugly ugly ugly,"** a stiffly starched nurse nattered at him as she pushed her way in. ** "Now, get back to your room", **she ordered her drill-sergeant manner.

Roy tried to smooth things over with the irate nurse. ** "Wait a minute, wait a minute. It's okay. We were just talking", **he said trying to let her know that it was okay for Johnny to be in their room.

"**No insubordination from you bright eyes",** she snapped back before Roy could continue. A horrible feeling of déjà-vu crept into him. Marco was now grasping the covers to his chest. He didn't exactly know what was going on; but one thing he was sure about was this intruder in white was most likely one vicious nurse

Johnny gave a helpless shrug towards his friends at the same time nurse stared down at him in annoyance like he was a tiny fly and said, "**Well, are you gonna roll that thing, or do I have to carry you?"**

"**I'm going, I'm going," **Johnny muttered as she shoved him roughly out the door in the same manner as a villain who would push a helpless wheelchair bound patient down a flight of steps.

Roy was somewhat taken aback by the abrasiveness of her actions and decided to use a good natured approach with the overbearing nurse who was beginning to feel terrifyingly familiar to him. "**I don't understand. We were just…**".

"**He knows I have a schedule to keep. Its 11:00 hours. It's time for his bath" **she interrupted while her heavily encased makeup covered eyes bared down on him.

"**Bath",** Roy questioned as the blood in his veins began to slowly turn to ice.

"**That's right BaAAathh", **she answered in almost a sugary-cruel tone. "**In exactly 15 minutes, I'll be back".**

Long ago memories began to resurface in Roy as he slowly remembered his hospital stay almost 18 years ago in the Children's Ward at Norwalk County Hospital. He felt the cold dead hand of fear begin to squeeze his rapidly beating heart, _it's her_. **"Back"**, he heard himself say as she began to head out the door.

She turned around appraised him up and down like a creature getting ready to devour her prey and who after wards would use the remaining bones to pick her teeth with.** "That's right Steve Stunning, your next".**

Roy's face took on an expression of sheer fright. _It's her. It's Nurse Barf-it from all those years ago. Only today she's morphed into the psychopathic Joan Crawford from Straight Jacket. She remembers me and how me and Kenny used to mock her. She remembers me! I can see it in her eyes!_ He glanced over at Marco who rolled over in his bed and was now trying to seek shelter under his blankets.

A few minutes had passed and Marco rolled over again to glance over at Roy. He still remained motionless with a terrified expression frozen onto his face. Marco called out his name a few times before Roy finally responded. "Marco…w-wee have t-to get out-t of here. B-before s-she c-comes b-back", Roy managed to say in a stuttered panic.

"Roy, you need me to call a nurse?" Marco was now getting very concerned over Roy's sudden change in behavior. _I sure wish that damn battleaxe nurse hadn't of chased Johnny out of the room. I sure could use his help right now_, he thought.

Roy turned towards Marco with fear etched onto his face. "NO!...No nurse…we need to get away from that evil nurse", Roy rambled. Marco went to reach for the call bell but stopped when Roy interrupted him, "No, no, no, no, no…don't do that. We need to get out now before it's too late".

Marco began to sense that Roy was having a horrible flashback. It was pretty apparent that Roy was working himself up into a frenzied state. Perhaps, he was thinking of the explosion they were in yesterday. Marco tried to reassure Roy that everything was alright but it nothing he said could calm the man down. Macro was in much too pain himself to get out of bed to go over and check on his roommate. He really didn't have much choice but to use the call bell.

"Marco…what have you done? We still had five minutes left to escape before witch Hagatha came back," Roy whispered loudly as he turned to Marco with his fear-glazed eyes.

Marco was beside himself over Roy's agitated state, "Roy something's not right with you. You need someone to check you over".

"You don't understand Marco…she's used to skin little boys years ago and now she's taken to skinning firemen".

Marco threw Roy a puzzled look just as Nurse Beauxchet flung the door to the room open with normally overly dramatic flair almost sloshing the water over the rim of the basin of water she carried with her.

"I'm baAAack…and I see someone was soooo impatient for my return they saw the need to hurry me along with the call bell", she drawled menacingly. Marco quickly dropped the call bell he held in his hand as if it suddenly burned him.

"Well Don Juan, being you're so impatient for your baaAAaath I'll make Steve Stunning in the next bed stew awhile and start with you first instead".

She set the basin of water down in front of Marco and turned to grab a nearby cloth and soap. Marco now understood what was wrong with Roy. He felt the fear slamming into his body as she pulled the curtain around his bed in one hard tug.

Roy could hear Marco muttering loudly in Spanish to the nurse. _I hope he's using some real nasty Spanish swear words on her_, he mused. Slowly a smile crept over his face. The Big Fireman in the Sky just provided him with an opportunity to escape. He slowly and painfully got out of his bed. The throbbing aches his body was feeling was nothing compared the sponge bath he would get from Nurse Barf-It if he didn't flee now. Feeling a draft of air run across his derrière he quickly grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around himself. He quietly tip toed to the door careful not to make a sound.

"Obtenga sus manos lejos de allí. Mi madre quiere a nietos algún día", Marco yelled in anger as he was being attacked with a wash cloth and soap.

Roy slowly cracked the door open and stood there momentarily as guilt washed over him. He remembered the golden rule amongst firefighters was to **never leave a brother behind**. "Forgive me, Marco," he said in a barely audible whisper as he stepped out into the hall and shuffled his way towards the nearest stairwell.

* * *

Dr. Early had just finished with his patient in Treatment Room 2 and now he was headed over to the nursing station to inquire about the missing patient code he had heard over the hospital intercom. He walked towards the nursing station where he spotted Dixie McCall going over some paperwork. "What's the deal on the missing patient?" Dr. Early questioned.

Dixie narrowed her eyes and gave him her 'you're not going to believe it look", "Guess which one of our three firemen patients decided to fly the coup?"

Nurse Wilma Jacobs came up to the nursing station to put away some patient charts as Dr. Early answered, "Must be Johnny. After all he's been here the longest and is probably getting restless and given his personality it fits".

"Well…that would be the most logical choice out of the three…but would you believe Roy DeSoto was the one who took off," Dixie said as she raised her eyebrows. Wilma clumsily dropped the chart she had in her hand as she remembered being the night nurse at Norwalk County Hospital when Roy was a patient there as a boy. He had recognized her when he first came to Rampart to help train the first class of paramedics there and had re-introduced himself to her at that time.

"Roy…are you kidding me…I could see Johnny pulling something like that…but Roy…are you sure Dix," Dr. Early replied in amazement.

"Yes Roy decided to take off from his room just before lunch today", Dixie said as Wilma positioned herself beside her.

Dr. Early could feel the mirth rising in him, "Seriously, I just can't picture Roy doing something like that…Johnny yes…but Roy?"

"Actually this is the second time Roy's been a missing patient", Wilma quickly added as Dixie and Dr. Early turned towards her.

"It must have been when I was on vacation or something because I don't recall him doing anything like this before", Dixie questioned.

Wilma clarified her remark, "It was when I was a night nurse over at Norwalk County years ago. Roy was a little boy then and for some reason he decided to 'run-away' from the Children's Ward where he was a patient. I heard about the incident from the daytime nurse. Poor boy was sick and confused at the time." She went on to explain that he was found curled up someplace by one of the resident doctors at the hospital.

Suddenly a light went off in Dr. Early's brain as he remembered the little boy he encountered long ago in a stairwell at that very hospital. "Quick have everyone search the stairwells for him," he said as he dashed off down the hall to find the nearest stairwell that would most likely lead to Roy's room.

* * *

Joanne sat angrily on her husband's empty bed. She was furious over having been called to the hospital because her husband had decided to runaway like a little child. Then when Marco informed her that Roy became extremely agitated and upset over getting a bath; well that just fueled her rage even more. _Just you wait weasel boy, as soon as they get you back into this bed you're going to get a bath you'll never forget,_ she seethed.

Marco looked over at Roy's fuming wife before he rolled over and pulled his bed covers protectively around himself. _You are so in for it when you get back pally._


End file.
